Haunted Hearts
by B.M. Katherine
Summary: A hunter joins famous ghost adventurists  Zak Bagans,Nick Groff,&Aaron Goodwin  when a lockdown competition goes wrong. Hannah must keep everyone from disappearing or worse, killed! Can she do it and keep her heart safe from Zak?
1. Chapter 1

The Set Up

Zak tapped his fingers on the table, his forearm muscle pulsing with every movement, his foot tapping on the floor in anticipation. He blinked repeatedly, his eyes scanning over the screen in front of him, "So, is that it?"

Billy's eyebrow arched upwards, starring at Zak curiously, "Um… Yeah, easy as pie."

Zak didn't like the idea, a slaughter house that hundreds of people have disappeared into and never returned, now they were suppose to take twenty innocent people and stick them in that building just to see who could face the most demons and ghosts possible? He couldn't do it, wouldn't allow it. His fingers stopped tapping the table and he ran them through his hair, messing up whatever was left of his dark Mohawk, "I don't think this such a good idea…"

"I'm with Zak on this one" ,Nick said as he watched the screen. A picture of the building with animated ghosts and ghouls popping out of windows and making scary faces. Something that would scare little kids not grown men. Nick shook his head, "I think it's a bad idea. This place is seriously messed up."

"Oh come on, you boys don't seriously believe this place is haunted" ,Billy asked as he leaned further back in his chair and crossed his arms, "I've been in that building a hundred times, there are no real ghosts or demons or… whatever. All the stories behind it are myths, pure camp fire stories."

"I still don't know" ,Zak said as he watched the screen move over and over. Bold letters in red sat on top of the screen "Can You Handle The Lockdown?" their famous catchphrase. Details on the history of the place sat off to the left side, still making Zak uncomfortable. He would lock himself inside with a camera along with his buddies, Aaron and Nick, and prove this place is seriously haunted, but twenty innocent people? Especially after all the history they dug up and all the encounters, the interviews, this was real.

Billy laughed and rested his elbows on the table, "Trust me, if it was as bad as everyone says it is than I wouldn't have recommend this place. If you want, you guys can lock yourselves in there before and if its as bad as expected, then we can just call it all off."

Zak scratched his chin, he kept his face clean shaven all the time but felt a little stubble where he had missed the previous morning. He sighed and looked over at Nick, "What do you think?"

Nick shrugged, "Lets check it out first."

"Yeah" ,Aaron had been quiet the entire time. Zak looked over his shoulder and watched him out of the corner of his eye, Aaron looked just as uncomfortable with this as he did. He sighed and nodded, "Alright then, but if for any reason at all we feel something wrong, its off."

Billy cracked a smile, rubbing his hands together in excitement, "I don't think you'll be disappointed."

~0~

Hannah looked at the computer screen, a lockdown at the Young House Plantation, one of the most haunted places in America. A place not only where the people who were killed there haunt the building, but supposedly a gateway to hell had been opened there. Now the place was crawling with the demons and other damned souls, and they were hosting a public lockdown!

Hannah shook her head, "No way."

"Yes way" ,Philip said behind her. His hands were tucked away in his pants pocket as he watched her stare at the computer screen. She turned and shook her head, "I will not…"

"You will and you will like it" ,Philip interrupted her, "you're the only one that can save these people."

"Well, you know these little ghost hunters should really do their research on a place before nose diving through the front door. This isn't one of their fun slumber parties, they could seriously get hurt and now they could possible injury twenty other people…"

"Which is why you are staying with those people to be sure nothing bad happens" ,Philip said with a smile. His blonde hair was so long that it covered some of his green eyes, making him even more mysterious than he already was. He flipped his hair over to the right, revealing his stunning features, not looking anything like a hunter at all. Hannah rolled her eyes, "You know that doesn't work on me any more."

He stuck his bottom lip out as if to pout, "It use to…"

"Puppy dog pouts don't work on me either" ,Hannah said as she jumped to her feet and walked out of the room but not before calling over her shoulder, "you can cover this hunt all by yourself."

Philip sighed and began to chase her down the hallway, around the corner and down the stairs towards the garage, jumping in front of her before she could open the door to her black Chevy pick-up truck, "You have to convince them to shut this thing down. I'm a guy, why would they listen to me? You are young and gorgeous, do your little hunting thing and then your flirting thing and then it'll all be over with."

Hannah crossed her arms and began to tap her toe on the ground, "That little speech will not work on me either."

Philip crossed his arms and leaned against the truck door, "Hannah, please. You can handle this, you're the best hunter we've got. You have to take this job."

Hannah sighed and avoided eye contact with Philip, why would he say this to her? Any other job he would push her out of the way and take for himself, just like he had always done in the past, making their relationship crumble.

"Please" ,Philip pleaded with her, making her look him in the eye. She shook her head, rolling her eyes away from him, she couldn't believe she was giving in to his pathetic plead, "Alright."

Philip leaned in and kissed her cheek, smiling down at her, "You're a doll."

Hannah rolled her eyes again and watched as he walked away, leaving her alone in the garage. What was wrong with him? Just yesterday he was his regular, stuck up, nose in the air, "I'm better than you" attitude and all of a sudden… a complete one eighty. Philip was so confusing, a figure no one could figure out. Hannah had known him since middle school, they practically grew up together, graduated together, had the same friends. They even hunted together! Never had he been so strange…

She walked back through the house, back up the stairs and into an empty room, only the walls were decorated with weapons and tools they carried on their hunt and a table in the center of the room. Hannah was fond of the diamond, a bow and arrow with a silver tip that could pierce anything in its path. She was an archery champion, never missed…

"We got these cool little things, now" ,Jakob said as he lifted a gun up off the center table, "I don't see anything special about it. Looks like a regular hand gun."

Hannah snickered under her breath as Jakob looked it over and clicked a button, jumping back when wings popped out on the sides. He gasped, "Oh man, I have got to get me one of these. Its like a miniature crossbow!"

Hannah took it from his hand and reset it back to it regular hand gun styles, "That's because it is. I designed it myself. Its hard to carry around on these monster things and go unnoticed, so I drew this up. Took me years, but its perfect."

Jakob starred at the crossbow in her hand, wide eyed and amazed, "I want one…"

"You have to learn t shoot it first. Load it, reset it, carry it without shooting yourself. It takes time to learn" ,she said as she tucked it into a gun holster and strapped it around her ankles, tucking her bottom of her jeans over it, hardly recognizable unless you looked really close, "I'll show you when I get back."

Jakob sighed, "Heard about the Young House Plantation, sucks."

Hannah nodded, not saying, just loading herself with weapons and other things such as holy water, an iron cross, and throwing knives. Silence filled the room, only the sound of the air conditioning could be heard. Jakob broke the silence, "If I could, I'd take it off your hands, just to be sure nothing bad happens to you."

Hannah looked over at him, he was young, a hunter in the making, about fifteen, the same height as her, short brown hair and bright blue eyes that made all the girls his age weak at the knees. Cautiously, she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and smiled, "That's sweet. One day, we'll partner up and hunt together."

He nodded his head, fighting back an ear to ear grin but not being very successful, "I'd like that."

_Maybe a little too much_, Hannah thought to herself. Jakob was a good hunter for his age, still young but with a couple more years of training, he would really be something. He set high standards for himself, as they all did at that age.

"If you ever need a partner while up there" ,he started to say when Philip walked in and interrupted him, "Call me. Sorry pup, you're not ready just yet."

_And he's back_, Hannah thought to herself as Philip slapped his back a little bit harder than a playful pat would have been, making Jakob whence, but covered it with a smile. Hannah rolled her eyes, "Question is, how am I going to get in? it's a contest, I can't just march in and demand a slot."

"Bobby is taking care of that" ,Philip assured her, "he's got you down on the winning list. That little mole…"

It was all set then, no backing out now. Hannah sighed and looked over at Jakob, who gave her a cheerful smile. She gave him a nod and looked up at Philip then, "See you later then."

With that, she walked out and climbed into her pick-up, ready to fight whatever got in her way.

~0~

Zak stepped out into the sunlight, all night long and nothing happened, was this place even truly haunted? Nick and Aaron followed behind him, neither of them impressed either. He turned to the both of them and raised his hand as if to ask a question, "There is nothing there. All night long and nothing happened. What are we doing then?"

Nick shrugged, not knowing how to answer his question. Aaron just stared at him as if to tell him he was suppose to figure something out. Zak sighed, slapping the back of his neck, "What should we do?"

Aaron was the first to speak, "I know all these stories about this place are probably made up and over dramatized, but look at it this way, no one will get hurt. We don't have to worry about scaring anybody too much."

"If we scare them at all" ,Nick said as he rolled his eyes, "bro, its lifeless. We need some place haunted, some place real. That's what these people want."

"We'll spook it up for them" ,Billy said as he stepped out behind them, locking the door shut, "I told you there was nothing in there. It has all been urban legends and spooky stories told to scare the pants off of people. Besides, if there really was anything in there, I'm sure you guys would scare it."

Billy was trying to make a joke, but the guys weren't laughing, didn't even crack a smile. He stopped laughing and tried again, "Listen here, I can assure you by the time you get here next weekend, it'll be what you and your fans expected… maybe more."

Zak didn't like the idea of a fake haunting, it just didn't set right with him. After all, his purpose was to prove ghost exist, what if someone found out it was all rigged? They could get shut down for good.

"Guys, we've put good money into this place" ,Billy said as he rested a hand on Nick and Aaron, "think about it really hard. What do you say?"

Zak looked at Aaron who shrugged as if to say "sure" and then at Nick who didn't looked to happy about it, but didn't have any other conversion. Zak sighed, against his better judgment, and nodded in agreement. Billy smiled, "Let the games begin."


	2. Chapter 2

Another Face in the Crowd

Zak shrugged in his chair, the conference room was filled with people aging from fifteen to thirty-five, all looking the same. Black shirts, punk-rock hair cuts colored wild and bright, nose rings, tattoos, their usual group of fans. His eyes scanned over the crowd, either they looked him straight on or watched him out of the corner of their eyes, whispering to friends next to them and making him smile. The attention was nice.

His eyes caught a woman, possibly late twenties to early thirties, blonde hair cut to her shoulders, her brown eyes eating away his clothes. She smiled, mischievously and very seductively. Zak returned the smile, hoping she'd be one to come along on their lockdown…

"Alright, listen up" , Billy said as he stepped up to the microphone, "As you all know, this is a competition. The maximum of days to stay is two weeks, but if for any reason you must leave, then no one will stop you. Everyone knows the story behind the Young-House Plantation, right?"

Majority of the people sitting in the room looked around, some with questionable expressions among their faces, making Zak shake his head in disbelief. Billy smiled, "Well, allow me to tell you. Years ago, the Young-House Plantation was run by, or so the story says, by a man named Charles Young. He married Jenni House, which gives the place name 'Young-House', who refused to change her name and the other half of his fortune came from her. They were a sweet and sour couple, Jenni House being the sweet and loving to her slaves and servants, Charles Young being the sour, a ruthless and strict master over his slaves.

"If a slave were to displease Mr. Young in any way, it was followed by harsh punishment, sometimes death. As you can imagine, many slaves were killed there, either by other slaves or their master, and even though Jenni tried to calm her husband down, he refused to let up. Mrs. House became pregnant with their first child and while giving birth became very sick, their child was born dead. Mr. Young blamed his wife's servants, sentencing them to death. One of the servants being a daughter to the voodoo witch, who cast a curse over the place."

Zak looked over the crowd, most of the room watched Billy with mouths dropped to the floor, some of them already looking scared without even setting foot on the property. He leaned over to Aaron and smiled, "This is going to be one long two weeks."

Billy continued his story, "Months past when Jenni gave birth to their first son, a healthy young boy named Fredrick…"

The room snickered. Billy grinned, "Minutes later, a second son, Fredrick's twin brother. We never found out what his name was, only that when Mr. Young looked at him, knew he was not his. He demanded the boy to be killed, but when all servants could not stand to kill an infant, Mr. Young did it himself. He beat his wife until she gave up the name of the man she had an affair with, discovering it was one of his close and personal servant. In a rage of fury, he murdered him on the spot. The young servant being the brother of the voodoo witch, now I'm sure you all know what happens next."

The crowd looked at each other, whispering in one another's ears, mumbling under their breath. Zak scanned the crowed, finding the eyes to the blonde he saw earlier, her brown eyes still undressing him, biting her lower lip, turning the corner of her mouth into a smile. He flashed her another smile and looked back at Billy, who was finishing his story, "No one knows what happened to Mr. Young after that, some say he was dragged into the pits of hell by the slaves the voodoo witch summoned, some say he just died of a stroke and was secretly buried by his wife, but I say that the voodoo witch killed him herself. I believe she broke into his room long after dark, holding a knife above her head and thrusting it into his chest, piercing his heart. No one knows, but hopefully our winners will find out."

The crowd had silenced now, all watching Billy, except the blonde who was still watching Zak. All were curious as to who was living there for the next two weeks, some probably praying it wasn't them after hearing the story behind it all. Other's were anxious, who was going? Who would spend the next two weeks with the Ghost Adventures Crew?

"Now for the winners" ,Billy announced over the microphone, "I hope you all packed just incase."

The room came to life once again, people starting jumping in their seats, smiling once again, watching Zak, Aaron, and Nick as they sat behind a table in front of them. Billy pulled the clipboard up to his face and adjusted his glasses, "Jack Miller, Justine Houston, and Andria Granthum."

A boy from across the room stood up, pumping his fist in the air in excitement, getting patted on the back by a group of other guys in congratulations. Two girls a few rows in front of the stage stood up, apparently knowing each other, holding hands as they walked down the aisle and up the stairs, only letting go of each other to shake the crews hands. Both looked to be about fresh out of high school, trying to look older than they truly were.

Billy nodded to them and looked back at the clipboard, "Gregory Williams, Kale Donaldson, and Kelly Victor."

Two guys, complete opposites of each other, one looking like a football jock and another looked like be belonged in a punk-emo band. The girl, wearing clothes too tight for her body shape, looked to be in her early twenties, kept her head down when she reached the stage. Her hair covered her face, hiding her eyes as she shook the each hand from the crew and joined the other winners. Billy continued, calling four other names, three more guys and another girl. Zak never caught their names, only their faces as they passed by him.

"Bobby Jones, Ruby Faith…" more names, neither of them the blonde Zak had made eye contact with. She kept watching him, never clapping when someone's name was called, studying him. For a moment, he didn't even notice that Billy had been speaking again until he placed the clipboard down at his side and watched as three more people came down the aisle. He raised an eye brow and called again, "Hannah Phillip?"

"Its pronounced Phil-ep. Its French" ,a girl about nineteen or twenty stood to her feet, standing out from their other usual fans. She wore white skinny jeans, a loose yellow V-neck shirt, her hair was dark and curly, hanging loosely over her shoulders and down her back, her piercing green eyes staring straight ahead at Billy, correcting him when he miss-pronounced her last name. He nodded his head in apologize as she walked towards the stage.

Zak watched her, every step looking so graceful and light as if she was walking on air. He caught his breath as she stepped up on the stage, taking Nick's hand first and smiling at him, "Nice to meet you" ,she greeted him in a heavy southern accent. Nick smiled back and returned the greeting, "Nice meeting you too."

Her eyes converted from Nick to Zak, holding his eyes, feeling as if she was looking down at his very soul. The left corner of her lip curved upward into a smile, "Nice to meet you."

The words were stuck in his throat, his brain scream a greeting, but his lips stayed pressed tight together. Her lip dropped to a straight line, raising an eyebrow as he held her hand, shaking it slowly. Her hand was so small in his bulky hand, her skin was so smooth, so perfect…

He realized everyone was watching him now, he had been shaking her hand much longer than he meant to, stilling screaming inside his head but nothing out loud. He finally managed to pry his lips apart and let out a dry reply, "Yeah."

She smiled again and slipped her hand from his, reaching out towards Aaron, "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine" ,Aaron replied so smoothly. Zak felt his ears grow hot with embarrassment, why didn't he say something so cool and smooth like that? He rested his forehead in the palm of his hand, beating himself up inside, _"Yeah"? What was I thinking? Just a simple, "Nice to meet you too" would have been just fine. What's wrong with me?_

The last three names were called, making Zak feel better about escaping from the room for a moment. He never found the blonde girl again, never even noticed she was one of the first to get up and leave when the last three names were called, his eyes focused on Hannah the whole time. She stood to his far left with the other group of competition winners, her hands resting gently at her side, her dark curls just barely past her shoulder blades, her green eyes staring straight ahead, ready to face whatever came her way.

Aaron shook the hand of the last competition winner, watching as she joined the group. Billy slapped the clipboard back down to his side and smiled, "That's it. You are welcome to stay, we have the room for another thirty minutes or so. Feel free to come meet the crew if you haven't, speak to the winners, say a small prayer over them if you want to. Goodnight everybody."

The room came to life, people began to turn and talk to one another, hugging each other, meeting one another. Zak stood from his seat and looked over at the group of winners, they were meeting one another, smiling and hugging each other in congratulations. His eyes stayed on Hannah for a moment as she turned to the guy next to her, shaking his hand and smiling up at him. Her eyes looked past him and found Zak for a moment, flashing him a smile and then turning to someone tapping her shoulder. Zak rubbed the back of his neck and escaped through the backstage and through a door leading to the parking lot. He breathed in heavily, filling his lungs in with the night air and closing his eyes, letting the heat in his ears cool down.

"Hi" ,someone said from his left side. He turned and looked to see the blonde from inside the conference room. She smiled at him, looking him up and down, pulling a cigarette from her lips and dropping it onto the asphalt. He nodded at her and smiled, "Hey."

She pulled a box of cigarettes from her pocket and slipped another on in her mouth, holding the box out for him, "You want one?"

He shook his head, "I don't smoke."

"Too bad, I think its totally sexy" ,she said as she began to flick the lighter on, lightening her cigarette as a puff of smoke blew out of her nostrils. She turned to face him straight on, her shirt smaller than she needed it to be, the first four buttons undone to show off her cleavage. His eyes looked her over, she knew how to put herself out there…

She giggled, "You want to get out of here? Go for a ride or something?"

Zak looked up at her, her brown eyes watching him, she knew he was interested. If it were any other night, he would go off with her and not show up until the next morning. Not this time, not tonight.

He shook his head and pulled the door to the backstage open, "No thanks, I just came out here to get some air."

"Hey" ,she reached out and grabbed his forearm, slipping her opposite hand into her shirt, under her bra strap and pulling out a folded piece of paper, "give me a call sometime if you ever need… some more air."

She placed the paper into his hand and took a step backwards, leaning against the brick wall and blowing out a cloud of smoke. Zak looked at the paper and walked in, crumbling it up and throwing it to the ground as soon as the door slammed behind him. He sighed and walked back on stage, the room had cleared out some, only a few people had stayed behind and were talking to the people he was locking down with him. Aaron and Nick walked up to him when he stepped down off the stage, "Where'd you go?"

Zak flipped a thumb over his shoulder, "Slipped through the backstage exit and got some air. Felt a little stuffy in here."

"Yeah, you didn't look so hot towards the end" ,Aaron said as he slapped his shoulder and smiled, "sure it wasn't uh… what's her name?"

"I don't know, I wasn't paying attention" ,Zak lied. Nick and Aaron looked at each other and back at him. Aaron pointed a finger at him and smiled, "Yeah, it was… Janna?"

"Hannah" ,Zak corrected him. They smiled at each other and looked back at him, "And you say you weren't paying close attention."

Zak smiled, feeling his ears grow hot again. The guys laughed and slapped his face playfully, teasing him, "Are you blushing? Zak is blushing, uh-oh."

He pushed them away and chuckled, "Alright, cut it out. Yeah, she's good looking, did you not see her?"

"I wouldn't know, I don't look at a lot of girls now" ,Nick said as he held up his left ring finger, revealing his wedding band. Zak and Aaron looked at each other and smiled, Aaron nodding, "She was cute."

Zak held his hand up as if to show off Aaron, "He thought so too…"

"Yes, but at least I didn't choke up and answer 'yeah', unlike you" ,Aaron said as he crossed his eyes and made fun of him. Zak gave him another friendly push and chuckled. They turned to the group that had dwindled down to the twenty people tagging along for the two week lockdown. Nick spoke first, "Alright everyone, lets load up in the van and head to the hotel room first. We'll spend tonight resting up and tomorrow gathering as much information as you can about the plantation."

"Our only question is" ,Zak continued. His eyes fell on Hannah, locking with her green eyes, flashing her a smile, "Can you handle the lockdown?"

~0~

Hannah threw her stuff on the hotel bed and pulled her phone out of her pocket, one missed call from Philip. She pressed the call back button and placed the phone to her ear, stepping out on the balcony incase whoever she was sharing a room with came in. The phone rang twice and then a sluggish, "Hello?"

"Hey, you called?"

"Yeah" ,Philip answered, followed by a lot of banging and then a click, Hannah guessed it was a lamp or light switch of some type. He swore under his breath and sighed, "Did everything work out smoothly? You got in, right?"

"Yeah, everything worked out smoothly" ,Hannah answered, recalling the whole night over in her head. Making herself stand out by starting with correcting the guy who mispronounced Philip's name, almost forgetting he was the one that set her up to it so of course he'd place his name in there somewhere, then meeting the crew, practically holding hands with Zak, meeting the rest of the group and the ride over to the hotel. They had all loaded in a white van, cramming next to each other shoulder to shoulder, suitcases sitting in their laps. Nick had the front seat and turned to face everyone else, even Zak and Aaron had crammed in the front row with two other guys. He smiled, "Maybe we should get a second van tomorrow."

"Ya think" ,Aaron asked sarcastically. Zak had looked over his shoulder a few times at her and turned whenever she caught him staring, smiling to herself. Once at the hotel, he took everyone's suitcase and set it aside for them as they all climbed out, offering his hand to Hannah when he placed her suitcase down. She took it to give him the satisfaction and stepped down gracefully, even though she could've done it without his help.

"Great, just making sure. And no one had any suspicion about you being a… Ya know, a hunter" ,Philip asked. Hannah crossed her arm and looked over her shoulder, pulling the door close, "No, not unless I tattooed it on my forehead or something."

"I meant, no one went through your bag or anything?"

"They're tucked away under a loose fabric in my suitcase. They can't slip out unless I jerked the fabric open and showed everyone."

"Just checking, you can never be too careful" ,Philip said sheepishly. Hannah looked over her shoulder, a girl walked into her room, followed by two other girls who flopped themselves on her bed. She turned back and faced the night sky, "I have to go, roommate is her and she brought friends. Bye,"

"Bye" ,the line disconnect and Hannah pulled the sliding glass door open, walking in as the other girls froze and looked at her. She stood there and gave a little wave, "Hi."

"Hey, I'm Ruby. This is Justine and Andria" ,Ruby said as she waved toward Justine and Andria. Justine was blonde with dark hair underneath, a slender face with heavy eye liner and dark lips Andria had black hair with pink at the tips of her hair, her eyes pulled upwards, giving Hannah the impression that she had some Asian in her. Her face was rounder and her lips were full and painted red. They both gave a little wave and looked at each other, giggling. Hannah looked over at Ruby and raised an eyebrow, she took both her index fingers and rubbed them together as if to tell her they were together. She nodded, "Pleasure."

"So, how crazy anxious were you when waiting for your name to be called" ,Andria asked as she stroked Justine's hair. Justine smiled, "Very."

Ruby made a gagging noise and stuck her finger in the back of her throat, "Enough with the cute couple business, its kind of disturbing."

Andria stopped stroking Justine's hair and took her hand instead, holding it in her lap. Hannah pulled a chair to join them and smiled, "It was nerve racking, I'll tell you that much…"

"Did you see the way Zak was watching you? It was so… hot" , Andria said as she winked at Hannah. She shook her head, "I think that is just a little over dramatized. He was just being nice to a fan…"

"Oh no, girl. I can see chemistry between two people from a mile away" ,Justine interrupted. Hannah just rolled her eyes, "I don't think so."

"So what you're saying is" ,Ruby said as she stood up and walked over to Hannah's chair, sitting on the arm rest, "If he, oh I don't know, invited you to his room for the night, you'd turn him down?"

Hannah could feel her cheek growing hot, there was no denying that Zak was just about irritable, but she had a job to do, people to save, one of them being him. She couldn't mix business with pleasure, but…

"Oh that is a yes" ,Justine giggled. Hannah slapped her cheeks, trying to cover the redness and smiled, "Okay, so maybe."

The three girls giggled, Ruby giving Hannah a friendly shove. Someone knocked on their door and Hannah jumped up to answer it, "I'm here for a competition, not… Zak!"

Zak stood on the other side of the door, leaning against the door frame, arms crossed, showing the muscle in his chest through his shirt. He cracked a smile, "Hey, meet in my room in five minutes."

"Is it all of us" ,Ruby asked as she jumped to her feet and peeked around Hannah's shoulder. Zak raised an eyebrow, "Uh, yeah. Did you think I was just talking to Hannah?"

Justine and Andria rolled over laughing, holding their sides and crying, Ruby joining them except on the floor at Hannah's feet, "Ah…. Oh my gosh…"

Zak looked at Hannah, confusion written all over his face. She began to close the door and smiled at him, "We'll be there in five minutes…"

He stuck his hand out, stopping her from closing the door, "Four minutes."

His blue eyes locked with her's, holding her glance for a while. She finally turned her head, "Four minutes."

He gave her one last smile and started walking away, "See ya then."

Hannah closed the door, leaning against it and smiling up at the ceiling. Ruby cleared her throat, "So, are you going?"

She rolled her eyes and opened the door, "_We're_ going."


	3. Chapter 3

Late Night Scare

Hannah walked down the hallway of their hotel, Ruby to her left, Justine and Andria behind her. She could hear them giggling and flirting with one another, making her feel really awkward. Ruby bumped her arm, "Forget about them, so how cute was Zak?"

Hannah looked at her and raised an eyebrow, "Um… Cute?"

"He was counting down the minutes until he would see you again. Absolutely adorable" ,Ruby said as she looped her arm around her's and lightly skipped ahead of her. Hannah laughed, "Counting down the minutes, huh? He was just going from room to room reminding everybody to meet in his room."

Ruby smiled and looked upwards, acting as if she was trying to forget about it but really kept entertaining the idea over and over in her head. She just shook her head and kept walking until reaching Zak's room. The four of them stopped, all looking at Hannah, Hannah looking at them. She looked over her shoulder at Andria and Justine, "What?"

"Knock" ,Andria said with a smile. Hannah nodded her head and turned back towards the door, suddenly feeling very nervous. _He's just a guy, I have a job to do_, Hannah told herself. Though trying to convince herself of nothing more than that, she still couldn't bring her fist up to the door and knock. Ruby sighed and grabbed her wrist, knocking it on the door for her. She rolled her eyes, knowing Ruby was enjoying every minute of her humiliation.

The door quickly pulled open, Aaron standing on the other side. Nick and Zak were sitting at the table behind him, not paying much attention to the door. Aaron smiled at the them, "Hello girls, come on in."

Ruby skipped ahead, pulling Hannah by the wrist, "Hi Aaron, I'm Ruby and this is Hannah. Isn't she pretty?"

Hannah gave her a look of warning, telling her to calm it down, but she just shrugged and skipped to an empty spot on the floor and flopped down. Aaron chuckled, looking in Hannah's direction and giving her a slight wink, "Yes, very."

At that moment, Zak looked up from whatever Nick had presented to him and stared right at Hannah, turning the right side of his mouth upwards and into a slight smile. Hannah wanted to smile or blush, but didn't want to entertain Ruby or anyone else for that matter. She sat on the floor next to Ruby, facing Zak and Nick at the table, "So what are we doing here?"

"We're just meeting with the group, let everyone know who they're pretty much going to be living with for the next two weeks" ,Nick answered. Zak nodded in agreement, "Get to know one another, maybe share some stories."

"What kind of stories" ,Hannah asked. Ruby bumped her elbow and gave her a look that told her to shut up. She shrugged her shoulders and turned back to Zak and Nick who were just grinning at each other. They looked back at her and said at the same time, "Ghost stories."

"Oh, right. My bad" ,she felt so stupid for asking, suddenly realizing what Ruby's look was for. The room fell into complete silence for a solid two minutes until Andria broke it, grabbing Justine's hand and headed towards the door, "We'll be right back."

Everyone watched as they walked out together, holding hands and giggling. The door closed behind them, leaving the five of them left to stare at one another. Aaron pointed towards the door, "Are they…"

"Yeah" ,Ruby interrupted. Aaron nodded his head, "Just might have to join them…"

"Sit down" ,Zak said as he swung around and looked at him. Aaron laughed and sat back on the bed, "I'm just kidding, man."

"Hey, you girls want to see something awesome" ,Nick asked. He connected a headset to his laptop and motioned them over, "Come look at this."

Hannah and Ruby both walked over to the table and stared at the screen. Zak stood up and offered his chair to Hannah, taking it with a smile and Ruby sitting on her knee. They both took one ear to the headset and pulled it towards them, watching the screen as Nick pressed the center button. The camera was swinging around in a slow circle, showing the surrounding landscape. It froze suddenly on a figure standing in the distance, zooming in closer. Ragged clothes hung loosely on its body. Just before its face came into view, a moaning noise came over the headset and then the camera started to malfunction. Ruby pulled herself closer to the screen, "That was totally… awesome!"

Nick smiled, "Told you so."

"Let me show you something else" ,Zak said as he leaned down close to Hannah, resting his right hand on the back of her seat and using his left hand to close the screen and pulled up more. Hannah could smell him from where she sat, her face so close to his neck, only inches…

She shook her head and looked forward at the screen, seeing what Zak was seeing. He pulled another clip up and pressed play, this time it was only a sound replay. Hannah listened closely, hearing a cracked voice over the earphone, "I'm going to get you… Zak."

"Is that a threat" ,Ruby asked surprise. Zak nodded, "Yes it is, one of many."

"Will that happen while we're at the Young-House Plantation" ,Ruby asked, scared almost. Zak waited a few seconds before answering, "Yeah…"

He wasn't very convincing, Hannah knew he was hiding something. Maybe he knew what was at this place, maybe he didn't. She had to convince him, it was dangerous. There was no way, if he knew what really went on there, that he would approve of this lockdown. She watched him, he watched the screen, complete silence. Hannah finally broke it, "Do you have any idea how many of these you might have gotten."

"Too many to count" ,he replied, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She nodded, watching him. He turned his head and looked at her fully in the face, his eyes locking with her's. She had sketched his face many times in her mind, his square jaw, his bright blue eyes, his lips…

A knock came from the door, breaking their locked eyes. Zak walked over and opened the door to let in three guys. Hannah recognized them from the conference room earlier, oh what were there names…

"What up, bro? I'm Gregory, but you can call me Greg" ,the first one said. He was the football jock, cute with broad shoulders and thick arms. The guy behind him wore a Navy shirt and shook Zak's hand, "I'm Jack, but you can call me Jack."

Zak chuckled and let him walk in, looking down at the last guy. He was much shorter than the rest of them, probably about Hannah's height, and looked like he belonged in some punk-emo band with his black hair laying down in the front and sticking up in the back. His V-neck shirt hung loose on his small frame and he wore skinny jeans decked out with a black and white checkered belt. He didn't smile, just looked up at Zak and walked right on in. Zak watched him as he seated himself on the floor in front of the bed, not saying anything nor looking at anyone.

He looked over at Hannah and shrugged, she returning his gesture with a smile. Before he closed the door, Andria and Justine walked in, smiling and giggling. Aaron looked up at Zak and smiled, moving his eyebrows up and down quickly, making Zak roll his eyes and shut the door, "So most everybody is here…"

He was interrupt by another knock on the door and in walked two more girls followed by three guys. Zak greeted all of them as they threw there names out there for him to catch. This time Zak didn't even close the door, just left it wide open incase anyone else walked in. First, everyone looked at each other, studying one another as they waited on the rest of them to get there. The guys looked the last two girls who walked in up and down. Hannah focused in on their faces, She couldn't remember but knew one of them was Zoë and the other was Lula. Both knew how to flirt with each guy, either by gently touching their forearms and flipping their hair to giggling whenever they spoke.

The rest all slowly drifted in one by one until the last one walked in, closing the door behind him. There were bodies everywhere, sitting on the floor, on the beds, leaning against the wall, and all talking at the same time. Zak finally raised a hand to quiet everyone, "Okay, lets get started. I'm Zak, as you all probably know. I called everyone here just so you guys can meet one another and get to know each other. Lets start… here. Name, age, you know the usual."

Hannah didn't pay much attention to anything that they talked about, except all their names and then pretty much shut her brain off the rest of the night. She was tired, her body and mind just ready to for rest. The room felt so full and stuffy, her vision began to darken. Her breathing slowed, thick and heavy, her head spinning or maybe it was the room, Hannah couldn't tell. Someone touched her, "Hannah…"

She looked at Ruby, her hand resting on her forearm, "Hannah… are you okay?"

She tried to shake this feeling off, "Yeah, I'm… I'm…"

Before Hannah could even finish her sentence, the world around her went black.

~0~

Zak pushed everyone away, "Back up, give her some room."

"Is she okay" ,someone asked. "Should we call someone" ,someone else asked. Zak didn't pay any attention, just stared down at this beautiful, angelic face. His fingers pushed a dark curl from her face as he whispered, "Hannah, can you hear me?"

She moaned, her breathing still very shallow and slow. He looked up at Ruby, "Do you know if this has happened before?"

"I don't know, she never mentioned it" ,Ruby answered, "I'll run back to our room and see if she has anything."

He watched as she darted out, looking up at Aaron and Nick, "Clear everyone out, open the window over there."

Aaron guided everyone out in the hallway as Nick pushed open the window, letting the night air flow in. Zak took Hannah's head in his hands, "Hannah…"

Her eyes jolted open and she looked left and right, almost in a state of panic, "What… Where am I? What's going on?"

"Its okay, you passed out…"

Her breathing was still shallow and thick as she gasped for air, "Inhaler…"

Ruby came running through the door, holding something in her hands, "She has asthma!"

Hannah reached up and begged for the inhaler, quickly pulling it to her lips and breathing slowly. She sat up and looked at Zak, "I'm sorry, I haven't had an attack in so long…"

"It's a good thing you still carry that around" ,he told her while rubbing her back, giving her what little comfort he could. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, catching her breath every second she waited. Nick crouched down to where they all sat on the floor, "Are you okay?"

Hannah nodded up at him and took another puff from her inhaler, "I'm fine now."

Zak didn't stop rubbing her back, feeling the muscle in her shoulders. He watched her as she breathed slowly, her chest rising with every breath. Nick looked her over as well, "Any other things we should know about? You're not going to fall over dead, are you?"

Hannah giggled, "No, its like I said, I haven't had an attack in so long."

"Do you think you can handle these next couple weeks" ,Nick asked. Zak looked over at him, there was no way she'd bail out now. Hannah shook her head, "I'm fine, I'll just keep this on hand."

"Why don't you just hang out here for a little while" ,Zak told her, continuing to rub her back and shoulders. He saw Ruby give Hannah a little smile and wink as she turned to walk towards the door, "I won't be waiting up if you come in late."

Nick walked out behind her, raising an eyebrow and turning the corner of his lip upwards, "We'll meet back up tomorrow morning."

The door closed behind him, leaving Hannah and Zak alone and on the floor. Hannah stretched her legs and breathed slowly, "I'm fine, really."

"I just want to be sure that you're okay" ,he told her confidently. His hand continued to rub her back gently, not knowing if he should just stop or let her tell him when that was enough. She finally put her hands on the floor and pushed herself to her feet, "Thank you, but I think I need to be returning back to my room. I'm honestly okay."

"You know something" ,Zak stopped her as she turned around, making her turn back and face him, "I think we need a proper introduction. You kind of passed out and it was your turn."

Hannah smiled, looking down at her feet and then back up at him, holding her hand out to him, "I'm Hannah Philip, I'm nineteen years old and yellow is my favorite color."

Zak smiled, "It's nice to meet you, Hannah Philip. Is that French?"

"Why, yes it is."

"It's cute" ,he said as he looked her in the eyes. She held his hand and looked deeper into his face, almost as if she was trying to look into his deepest, darkest secrets. He held his guard up, trying not to let too much of her inside him, though he wanted more of her. She turned her head sideways, almost playfully and smiled fully, showing her teeth, "There is something about you that puzzles me."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, is there something you're not telling me?"

_Oh you have no idea_, Zak said to himself. He finally released her hand and sat down in the chair behind him, pulling the other one right next to him so Hannah could sit closer, "What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

He watched as she gracefully seated herself next to him, tucking her legs under her and leaning closer to him on the arm rest. He leaned on his, only inches from her face, her eyes, her lips…

"I want to know everything about you, Zak" ,she said slowly, him watching her full pink lips as she spoke. He was being drawn in, pulled closer, her breath brushing his face.

Hannah sat straight up, pulling away from him, not scared but very cautious. She folded her hands in her lap, waiting for him to speak. He smiled, "I'm pretty sure there is nothing more I can tell you. My life is almost open to the public now."

She nodded, the corner of her lip curving in a small smile, "These next couple weeks at the Young-House Plantation, what do you know about it?"

Zak shrugged his shoulders, "Just what Billy said, the story behind the place, the haunting that exist…"

"Have you ever heard the other part of that story?"

"What other part?"

Hannah sighed, "Figured, didn't dig deep enough. Over the years, the voodoo witch and her spell grew stronger along with a lot of the Satan worshipping that went on there. They say countless portals have been opened in the house, demons and spirits live there together, torturing those that step foot inside. Some say, rarely does anybody make it out alive…"

"How do you know all this" ,Zak interrupted. Hannah shrugged her shoulders, "I do my homework. I would like to know where I'm going, especially if I'm going to be staying there for two weeks."

Zak sighed, all these stories… all lies. He already stayed there for a full night and saw, heard, and felt nothing. Maybe a tug on his shirt, or someone brushing his hair, but nothing this drastic. He shook his head, "You know this for sure?"

"Do you" ,she was challenging him now. Zak was taken back by her attitude, she was so straight forward and blunt. He shook his head, whispering, "Not true…"

"I'm sorry" ,she asked, leaning closer again. He looked up and said it louder, "I've heard these stories and I've already done a lockdown there just to see how insane this place was. We had heard the same thing, but nothing happened. Rarely any activity."

"So" ,Hannah started and then paused, propping her chin on her palm and leaning against the back of the chair. She blinked over and over, "if you don't think this place is all its cracked up to be, then why continue doing this competition? Clearly its not even worth it."

"Too late to call off, not to mention since its not as bad as everyone says it is, it would be totally safe to take a group of people in this 'slaughter house' and let them scare each other."

Hannah looked almost annoyed now, not very pleased with what he had to say at all, "You could just find another location, change the date, something…"

"Are you trying to talk me out of a lock down?"

She straightened up at this, looking at him with wide eyes, "Yes! I mean, its worthless now, isn't it? There is 'nothing' there, right?"

He shook his head, "Then don't stay."

"Oh, don't turn this around on me" ,she smirked at him, "you can't talk me out of anything."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that" ,he teased as he looked her over. She giggled and playfully poked his shoulder, making him chuckle and poke her back. She pushed herself to her feet, "Well, we'll see how this goes, but you'll be wishing you had called this whole thing off at some point."

"What makes you say that" ,he asked as he stood next to her, stepping closer to where he was, once again, inches from her face. She didn't smile but just stared up at him, "I just know."

Her green eyes stared were searching him again. He didn't know if her intensions were just out of curiosity or was she trying to send him signals. All he knew was, she made him very curious.

"Goodnight" ,she said quickly and turned to walk towards the door, leaving him to stand there and ask himself what just happened. He jogged up behind her and caught the door as it swung open, "Okay. Uh, I guess I'll see you in the morning."

Hannah turned to face again, not looking him in the eyes but into his face, "Don't guess, you should know."

Zak leaned against the door and smiled out of the corner of his mouth, "Then I'll see you in the morning."

Neither of them moved, just stood in the doorway and looked at each other. She started by staring at his nose, than his cheek and up at his eyes. When he smiled, she stared at his lips. He knew she was curious now, and it was now or never. He leaned closer to her, watching her as she watched him. He was inches, centimeters, so close that he could almost feel her on his lips…

With one quick turn of the head and stepping back, she placed a hand on his chest, almost pushing him back. He stopped where he was, leaning almost out the door and towards her, pushing his lips together and grunted, "Sorry, I just… uh…"

She giggled, smiling down at her feet, "Its okay, no need to apologize. I kind of got caught in the moment too."

"Yeah, that" ,he said as he straightened. Hannah nodded, "I don't want people asking questions, you know. Maybe if it were under different circumstances…"

_Oh now I'm in trouble_, Zak thought to himself. He raised an eyebrow and began to play confused, "What are you talking about? Nothing happened, I was just shooing a bug away from your face."

"Oh" ,she smiled back, "and you that with your tongue? You do that for everybody? I'm sure Aaron and Nick must love that."

Zak laughed, "Of course they do, a sign of friendship."

She giggled again, "Good. Good night."

He watched as Hannah walked down the hallway, punching the side of the door as soon as she was far enough away not to hear him. He closed his eyes and sighed, "Why? Why did I do that? What's wrong with me?"

He closed the door and turned a circle, placing his hands on his head and walking a complete circle in his room. He sighed and tried to calm himself down, "Let it go, nothing happened. Be careful…"

He turned to where the two chairs were, sitting side by side, replaying all the intimate moments over in his mind. How close she sat to him, how she smiled at him, how her eyes grabbed his. Zak knew she had some kind of spell on him, he knew he had to be careful around her, he knew he couldn't allow himself to get that close to her any more.

He walked into the bathroom and stared into the mirror, looking at himself. He sighed and turned the sink on, splashing water on his face in an attempt to wash away everything that just happened, clearing his mind. He dabbed a towel on his face and opened his eyes, looking back up in the mirror.

"Whoa" ,he yelled as he jumped and turned completely around, trying to see who it was standing behind him. When he had opened his eyes and looked in the mirror, he saw someone right behind him, not taking the time to study if it was male or female, but it smiled at him. At first glance, it looked demonic and scary, making him swear under his breath. He breathed slowly, placing his hand over his chest and trying to slow down his heart rate.

"This is just not my night" ,Zak said as he leaned against the sink and rubbed his hands over his face. He was tired, that's all he told himself. Sleep would make everything better right now. He turned the sink off, walking out of the bathroom and flipping the lights off, pulling his shirt over his head and throwing it towards the chairs. He crawled into bed and rested his head on a pillow, closing his eyes and inviting sleep to come in. His breathing slowed and he smiled as he drifted off to dreaming, hearing the sweet whisper of a female voice in his ear, "Sleep… Sleep now, baby…"


	4. Chapter 4

The Next Morning

Hannah swung the bathroom door open and met Ruby's face. She smiled at her, "Well, well, well, someone got in pretty late last night."

Hannah shrugged, "Yeah, we talked."

"Just talked" ,Ruby asked as she stepped in and flipped her shoulder length reddish brown hair, tucking it behind her ear and then pulling it in front. She sighed and pushed it over her shoulder again, "What did you two talk about?"

She shrugged, "The Young-House Plantation…"

"Liar" ,Ruby exclaimed. She turned and faced her, "You were locked in his room for however long you wanted and all you did was talk about the Young-House Plantation? You are so lying!"

"So not" ,Hannah said as she walked over to her suitcase and threw her bathroom bag inside, zipping it close, "that is all we did. He walked me to the door, we said 'goodnight' and I came here to sleep."

Ruby shook her head and placed her hands on her hips, "You… you had every opportunity to jump him and you didn't take the chance?"

"I would like to keep our relationship professional, just as I plan on doing with everybody else" ,Hannah said as she smiled, "besides, I came here to hunt ghosts, not get caught up with Zak Bagans."

"So you wouldn't mind if I got caught up with him" ,Ruby asked mischievously. Her lips curved into a smile as she gave her a wink and turned back to the bathroom, "Any girl would want to get 'caught up' with Zak Bagans."

Hannah sighed, "Not this girl. I'm headed to the lobby, I'll meet you down there."

"M'kay" ,Ruby replied as she closed the bathroom door. Hannah jerked the door open to the hallway and pulled her suitcase out in front of her, rolling it to the elevator and waiting for the doors to open. A girl stepped up beside her, staring down at her feet as she waited with her. Hannah watched her out of the corner of her eye, she never looked up, her short blonde hair hiding her eyes. She ducked down, trying to look her in the face, "Hi."

She looked up and at Hannah, then quickly back down at her feet, "Hi."

"You're going with us to the Young-House Plantation, right?"

She tilted her head up just a little, showing a little bit more of her face, "Yes."

Hannah waited for her to say more, but she didn't say anything else. Hannah stuck her hand towards her, "I'm Hannah."

"Kelly" ,she said as she shook her hand, still looking down at her feet. Hannah giggled, "Its nice to meet you, Kelly. You must not be from around her."

"How'd you know" ,Kelly asked, looking up this time. Her face was round, her eyes almond shaped and brown, her nose looking almost too small for her face. Innocent came to mind when Hannah first saw her, "Well, you don't have even a hint of a southern accent and we are in the heart of Alabama."

"I'm from Detroit" ,Kelly told her as the door pulled apart. Two girls stepped out, both giggling, but stopped when they looked at Hannah and Kelly. The one closest to Hannah had long black hair, stood a few inches shorter than her, her piercing hazel eyes stabbed her in the chest as she stood in the way of the elevator. She wore a pair of daisy dukes, her backside looked as if it was about to just fall out. Her shirt showed off the belly button ring and tattoo on her hip of a cross bone wrapped in a red ribbon. She clicked her black boots together and watched Hannah, "So was last night some little act? It obviously worked."

Hannah looked shocked, "Are you talking to me?"

"Duh" ,she replied as she placed her hands on her hips and stepped towards her, "some pathetic act to get you and Zak alone, no doubt."

"Well if it was, though it wasn't, it worked" ,Hannah said back to her with a smile on her face. She rolled her eyes and stepped past her, "Watch your back this week, kiddo."

Her friend stepped past Kelly, bumping into her arm and making her drop her bag, spilling what all was inside out and on the floor. Her wallet, some make-up, travel size deodorant, and tampons, all now scattered on the floor. Kelly sighed and quickly jumped to her knees, pulling everything into her arms. Hannah bent over and helped her pick all her belongings up, shoving it into her bag and save Kelly from embarrassment. She turned and watched as the two girls walked down the hallway, "Who do they think they are?"

"Zoë and Lula, the royal b****es of the world. At least that is what they think" ,Kelly said as she zipped her bag up and threw it back over her shoulder. Hannah looked back at where they disappeared and whispered, "I know I'm suppose to save everyone, but I'm leaving those two behind…"

"Did you say something?"

Hannah looked back at Kelly and smiled, "Nothing."

They both stepped inside the elevator, watching as the door closed. A hand came through the crack of the closing doors, reopening it. A guy much taller than Hannah and Kelly stepped in, very slender and stringy looking. His hair was crapped short and blonde, his eyes a light blue. He was handsome, and Hannah knew Kelly thought the same thing. Her cheeks turned pink and she looked down at her feet, smiling. He smiled at the both of them and turned around, bending over to pick something up. Kelly gasped when he spun back around and was holding a tampon in front of them, "Uh, does this belong to one of you?"

Kelly's face turned red as she dropped her head, her chin almost touching her chest. Hannah snatched it, "Its mine. Must have slipped out of my pocket."

He nodded and smiled, "Nice."

The doors closed behind him and he turned to face them. Kelly leaned over and mouthed "Thank you" as the elevator began to drop. She smiled and nodded towards her, looking back to her front. The guy turned his face to her, "You two were in the Ghost Adventures room last night, right?"

"Yes we were" ,Hannah answered with a smile. He nodded, "Yeah, I remember you passed out. What happened?"

"Asthma attack, nothing too bad" ,she answered, wishing he hadn't recognized her because of that. He nodded, "Its cool, I have it too. Not fun when I get an attack in the middle of a basketball game."

"Oh you play basketball?"

"Yeah, for the University of Auburn" ,he said with the widest grin on his face, "second season with them. I'm Sam by the way."

"Hannah" ,she said as she shook his hand. He looked over at Kelly, her face still red, "Kelly."

"Hey, I like your name" ,he said as his smile grew wider. Kelly's face turned an even dark shade of red. He continued, "I love the name Kelly, I think its really pretty."

"Thank you" ,she said, still looking down at her feet. Sam nodded and faced ahead of him as the door pulled open. He turned around and held his hand out for Kelly, "Would you like me to carry that for you?"

Kelly hesitated, but handed him her suitcase, "Thank you, that's very kind."

"My pleasure" ,he answered as he lead them to the lobby where most everyone from last night sat around at tables and lounged on the sofa. He tossed her suitcase over to where another pile of bags laid and walked over to the buffet of breakfast. Hannah grabbed Kelly's arm, "That was so sweet. I think he's into you…"

"No way" ,Kelly said as she sat down at a table, "he's too pretty for me."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. He complimented you and carried your bag for you, all within a time span of five minutes. No guy has ever done that for me."

"You're lying" ,Kelly said as she looked up from her feet, her face still a light shade of red. Hannah shook her head, "No I'm not."

Kelly began to blush again and sat her hand in her lap, looking down at the table top. Hannah smiled and began to walk over to the buffet, scanning the room and finding Zak sitting at a table with Aaron and Nick, looking over some paper. Nick was talking to him and pointing down at whatever it was in his hand, leaning back and looking up, meeting Hannah. He smiled and waved at her, making Aaron turn and do the same. Zak looked up as well and smiled, greeting her with a sweet "good morning", as she walked by. She stopped and rested her hands on the back of Aaron's chair, "Good morning y'all."

"You're looking much better" ,Nick said as he crossed his arm over his chest. Hannah nodded, "Well, I'm still breathing which must be a good thing."

"I'll say" ,Aaron said as he tilted his head upwards and looked at her, "you gave us a pretty good scare last night. Glad you're okay though."

Hannah smiled down at them, looking at Zak out of the corner of her eye. His face was looking down at paper in his hands, but his eyes were looking up at her. She flashed them one more smile and started to walk away, "Well, I'll leave y'all to your work. Just gonna grab something to eat."

Aaron raised a coffee cup to her and sipped it, Nick and Zak turning back to their conversation. Hannah sighed and grabbed a plate, slapping some runny eggs and grits onto a plate, sliding down and grabbing a handful of bacon and ending at the coffee pots. Someone placed a coffee cup in front of her. She looked up, it was one of the guys from the group. He smiled, "You look like you need some. Especially since last night."

Hannah sighed and whispered under her breath, "I wish people would stop bringing that up…"

"I'm Greg" ,he said as he held a hand out to her. She smiled, "Yeah, I remember you. We actually met back at the conference room."

"Oh yeah, I forgot" ,Greg said as he leaned against the bar and watched as she poured creamer and sugar into her coffee cup, "you were the one that seemed to shut everyone up. That was pretty awesome."

Hannah flipped her lips up in a smile and then back down to a straight line. She stirred a stick in the hot liquid, Greg still standing there and watching her. She wanted him to leave, he made her a little uneasy. He opened his mouth to say something, but Hannah smiled up at him and started before he could, "It was nice seeing you again."

"Yeah, you too" ,he said and gave her a little wave as she turned and walked off, rolling her eyes. She looked up to see Zak watching her, looking past her and at Greg, his jaw jutting out and telling Hannah that he was biting his tongue. She shook her head and sat next to Kelly, jumping when she saw Sam sitting there, "Oh, I didn't know you were sitting there."

He wiggled his fingers in her direction, "Might have to watch me these next couple weeks. You never know where I'm gonna pop up."

Kelly giggled, looking back down at the table. Though Hannah had only known her a few short minutes, she wished that Kelly would look up at people instead of hiding her face. Sam did most of the talking at the table. He talked about basketball, college, his family up in Nashville, all the while Hannah would ask questions here and there just to keep the conversation going, Kelly inches her head upwards until she was looking Sam full in the face. She didn't say much but just nodded her head and said "Yeah" and "Uh-huh" every now and then.

Hannah felt her pocket vibrating and reached in to pull out her cell phone, Philip calling. "Excuse me" ,she said to Sam and Kelly, pulling the phone open and placing it to her ear, "Hey."

"Good morning, how did last night go?"

"Well" ,Hannah started to say as she stepped out into the front entrance of the hotel, the warm fall air brushing against her face, "it got as good as it was gonna."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing" ,Hannah lied, recalling every intimate moment she had with Zak. Him holding her face, rubbing her back, sitting so close, knowing on the inside she wanted to kiss him…

"You didn't expose your position, did you?"

"Philip, you think I'm that careless" ,Hannah asked as she shook all of last night's memories from her head, "I talked to Zak, tried to find some way to get him to call this whole lock down off, but he didn't take it. He has reason to believe that this place isn't even as haunted as they say it is."

"Who put that in his head?"

"A lock down he did himself before giving the okay to do this. I don't know if someone is just messing with him, but I know the land and I would not want to be there well after dark" ,Hannah said as she looked over her shoulder when the sliding door opened. A few people going to the lockdown walked by her, carrying their luggage and tossing it in the back of a truck. Kelly walked by her, Sam carrying her stuff, and gave Hannah a wink and smile. She grinned as Philip babbled on about how she had a job to do and not to let anyone get seriously hurt or worse…

"You think I don't know what I'm doing? Chill with the lecture, boss" ,Hannah said as she focused back on her phone as Greg walked by her, rolling his suitcase and Hannah's. He stopped when he reached her and showed her suitcase to her, "I went ahead and decided to load it up for you."

Hannah flipped him a little waved and looked down at her phone, "Yes Grandma, I packed the quilt you knitted for me and it is very pretty."

"No games, Hannah" ,Philip responded back, "keep your equipment well hidden."

"Its in the bottom of my suitcase, all nice and secure" ,Hannah said back with a smile as Greg walked off and tossed her things on the back of the truck. Hannah stepped farther towards a pillar and hid behind it, "I know what I'm doing."

"Then do it. Keep talking to the crew, if you can convince one of them to change his mind, then you can get all of them to change their minds."

"Its much harder than it seems. Especially with Bagans" ,Hannah said as she fingered the stones on the pillar, "he throws it right back at you and pushes it to the third degree."

"Then do a stripe tease, give him a lap dance, flirt it up…"

"You know seduction isn't the only way to get what you want."

"If it works, it works" ,Philip said with a chuckle, "now be careful."

Hannah crossed her arms and jumped when she noticed Zak leaning against the pillar. She smiled, "Yes Grandma, I will. I love you too."

"Grandma" ,Zak asked with a raised eyebrow. Hannah flipped her phone close and placed it in her pocket, "Yes, she just called to be sure I had everything I need and to wish me luck."

He nodded and looked over his shoulder, "About last night…"

"Hey, we said nothing happened and left it at that" ,Hannah said as she raised her hands as if to tell him not to bring it up. He nodded again, "I just wanted to clear things up with you, make sure we don't hit another wrong note."

Hannah placed her hand on her chest and batted her eyes at him, "You care?"

Zak chuckled at her teasing, "Every now and then I can be a sensitive and caring guy. I'm not made of stone, you know."

"That not what it looks like to me" ,she said as she joking punching his arms, popping a knuckle while he felt absolutely nothing. Hannah shook her hand as if he had hurt her, making him laugh even more. She couldn't help but smile when he laughed, she liked his laugh, his smile, the way his eyes lit up when he looked at her, everything.

He jerked his head towards the van, telling her that they should probably load up. She walked behind him, watching his every step, studying him. His shirt hugged his body, outlining every definition in his back. Her eyes could not pry away from him, he was so easy to look at…

The doors opened and Greg sat on the other side, "Saved you a seat."

Hannah's smile faded into a hopeless frown as she looked up at him, "Great…"

~0~

Zak pushed the doors to the van opened, breathing deeply and filling his lungs with the fall air, whispering prayers of thankfulness that it was clear and nothing like the stuffy van. He looked over the plantation, rolling green hills that seemed to scream a welcome, the tall two story brick house in front of him that beckoned him inside despite the rumors and stories that float around it. The slave homes laid not far down a path lead from the backdoor of the manor, the site was absolutely breath taking…

"Stop pushing."

"Stop rushing me."

"Will you move it!"

Zak closed his eyes and breathed again, calming down his nerves. The whole ride there, everyone in the van did nothing but complain about it being hot, push each other against the windows, talk loudly and argue with one another, had he taken on too much?

"Welcome to the Young-House Plantation" ,Aaron said as he jumped out of the passenger seat, camera in hand and showing off the land. He walked in front of the side doors where everyone stood, awestruck at what they were looking at. Aaron chuckled, "Our lucky winners. Who do you think is going to last the longest?"

"Oh me, I got this."

"Yeah right, its gonna be me."

"No me!"

"Okay children" ,Zak referred to them, even though the oldest one was twenty-five and the youngest was eighteen, "lets grab our bags out of the truck. We can drop them off right here and we'll give you guys a tour of the place."

They all joined in a group holler and walked over to the truck, pulling each other's bags off and tossing them on the gravel. Zak helped pull them out of the back of the truck and hand each bag to it's rightful owner. His first bag was a pink duffel and held it out. Someone brushed his hand, making him turn to see who it was. A short brunette held the bag, along with his hand, smiling and batting her eyes towards him, "Thanks so much."

She dragged the "so" in her sentence out, finger his hand as he released her bag, pulling it back and away from her. He couldn't remember her name, Zoë he thought, but wasn't certain. He just smiled and returned back to handing people their bags until they reach the last one. He jumped from the back of the truck and onto the gravel, watching as everyone carried their bags to the side of the house. Greg was bothering Hannah again, trying to take her bag, but she refused to let him carry it. "I've got it" ,she finally snapped, making him draw back in and retreat. Zak couldn't help but chuckle, poor guy just didn't know when he was being rejected.

"Alright, follow me this way and we'll start down there at the slaves' house and work our way up" ,Zak motioned them. They all followed behind him, Zoë and her friend skipping ahead to where they were walking next to him, giggling and smiling, "We can't wait to be locked down with you."

Zak chuckled, "I bet."

"This place is scary looking at night, right? Because right now it doesn't look like much."

"Yeah, everything looks better in the day" ,Zak replied, looking straight ahead at his destination. The girls continued giggling and asking meaningless questions. Zak would just nod his head and reply with an occasional, "Uh-huh" and "Yeah", not very interested in what they had.

"So, if something were to ever happen to me, you'd come save me, right" ,Zoë asked as she brushed his hand. He stuck it in his pocket and kept walking, "Depends, we're separating into three groups. You might get stuck with Nick or Aaron, they'd save you."

She didn't look very pleased with his response. Clearly she was flirting, trying to pull him towards her and he was not taking her bait. Zak was relieved when her questions stopped and they reach the slave house, walking in like he already owned the place. He turned to the group and began telling them the history, who lived here and who died, rather they worked in the house or out in the field. He began to talk about the Xs on the walls, telling them that the believed it to be the mark of voodoo. Everyone pulled out their phones and started taking pictures of it, making Zak look at Nick, both shaking their heads.

Aaron and Nick circled around the group, video taping everything. Some would get distracted and turn to make faces at the camera, making them chuckle every now and then. Zak pulled their attention back when announcing who would be staying the first night there, "With Aaron…"

"What" ,Aaron complained, "we get to sleep with the voodoo witches on the first night?"

"You want some cheese with that whine" ,Zak teased. Aaron crossed his eyes and started mimicking him again, making everyone in the room laugh, even Zak.

"With Aaron is Kelly, Kale, Joey, Sam, Erin, and Ken."

Zak saw Hannah smile and wink at Kelly when he had said Sam's name. Kelly looked down at her feet and blushed, getting nudged by who he believed to be Erin, a five foot three brunette woman in her early twenties. Apparently they knew each other.

"When we get done with the tour, we'll all separate and throw our junk where we'll be locking down" ,Zak said as he motioned them out the door. They walked back up towards the house, Zak explaining to them that all the slave houses looked the same, just that one was believed to have more activity than the others.

When reaching the manor, he unlocked the side door and pushed it open, a little bit harder than a normal door because that one was just so old. It opened right up into what they believed to be a family room, holding two small couches around a fire place. It was decorated in fine lamps, rugs and curtains, everything being freshly cleaned for their lock down.

"So this is the home of Jenni House and Charles Young" ,Zak turned to tell them. Everyone looked around, silently whispering awestruck comments as they scanned over the room. Zak noticed Aaron was standing with his legs spread apart, shifting his weight to one and then another, all the while having his camera pointed at a picture of Charles Young. He placed his hands on his hips and shook his head, "Aaron!"

"Yes" ,he swung the camera around to face him. Zak held his hands up in a questionable manner, "What the hell are you doing?"

Aaron swung the camera back to the pictures and started doing it again, "His eyes move with you. Its really creepy, just watch. He looks here and now here. Back here and then back here."

Nick walked over to the picture of Jenni Young and started following Aaron's steps, jumping from one foot to the other, "Oh yeah, they do. That's so weird…"

"Stop it, you two look ridiculous" ,Zak barked at them. They both stopped at the same time and turned around to face him, Zak looking at the group now, "You see what I have to put up with. Its insane."

"You have to be insane to do this job" ,Nick said back. Zak nodded, "And we're crazy."

The group laughed, focusing their attention once again on Zak. There wasn't much to tell about the house since Billy had already explained it all, so Zak jumped right to reading off the name.

"Nick and his group will stay here tonight…"

"Not fair" ,Aaron mumbled. Zak paid him no attention and returned back to his list, "With him is Jack, Hank, Lula, Zoë" ,_thank God_, "Cole, Daniel, and Andria."

Zak saw Andria hug Justine, remembering their little disappearing act last night before everyone reach his room. He smiled to them, "Since everyone pretty much knows what happened here, we'll head to the barn. For those who may be curious, Nick will show you which room is what and Aaron will tell you more about the slaves home tonight. The barn on the other hand is a story that not many, if anybody knows about."

They all looked interested at the sound of that and began to push one another towards the door. Hannah casually walked behind them all, avoiding the commotion in the group. Either that or escaping from Greg who attached himself right to Hannah's hip as soon as they stepped foot out of the van. He was stuck in the middle of the crowd, giving Zak a moment to walk next to her, elbowing her arm, "What do you think?"

"Don't you feel at all sorry for lying to them about all the activity here? I mean, if there is any" ,Hannah asked as they broke out in the sun light. Zak pulled his sun glasses out of his pocket and placed them on his nose to shade the sun from his eyes, "Well there was little the one night we stayed here…"

"Yeah, but you make it sound worse than it actually is."

"Can't have them running off before it even begins" ,he was watching her, knowing his eyes were well hidden behind his glasses. She walked so smoothly on the gravel, the ground barely crunching underneath her feet, all the while he sunk into it. Her hair sat perfectly down her back, revealing her shoulders fully. Her hands swung loosely at her side with every step, wanting so bad to reach out and hold them, pull her away from the group and have her all to himself. He didn't want to share with Greg or Ruby or Kelly…

She jerked at his arm, pulling him closer to her, "Look out."

Zak looked over his shoulder, not realizing he had almost walked into a tree. He smiled at her, "Thanks for saving me."

"Get use to it" ,she mumbled under her breath, Zak not knowing if he was meant to hear that. Her hand rested lightly on his forearm, slowly slipping back down to her side, wishing she would keep it where it was. He looked up and saw Greg looking over his shoulder and in her direction, looking desperate to be next to her. He shook his head as they walked through the barn door, having to leave Hannah to stand in front of the group and talk to them. He saw out of the corner of his eye Greg slip to where he was standing and smile at her, his eyes watching him with.

"The barn" ,he barked when he saw Greg go to touch Hannah's shoulder. He dropped his hand and jumped at the volume in Zak's voice, looking straight ahead and directly at him. Zak sighed, giving himself a second to regain his composure, "the barn is where Mr. young kept all his horses, chickens, mules, and cats. The slaves would come and take care of them, one in particular would stay the night and make sure nothing happened to his livestock. He slept right up there in the hay loft."

Everyone turned to where Zak pointed to see Aaron had already climbed, waving at the group while filming them at the same time. They all waved back and turned once again to Zak. He continued, "The boy they stayed here was supposedly murdered right up there where Aaron stands. He was pushed off and fell backwards, snapping his spin and slowly killing him. They say he still wonders around here, but he's friendly. People said they would leave stuff on the ground and come back later to see it picked up and placed neatly against the wall or on a hook.

"There have been eight reported murders in this barn, two are said to have been caused by Charles Young. Two suicides have been reported as well. Oddly enough, the men that hung themselves was on that rafter right above our heads. Funny that is was the same rafter."

"You don't think the first guy talked the other one into doing it" ,one of the guys in the group asked. He was shorter than Zak, brown hair and glasses set on his nose. He was broad and wore tight clothing, Cameron he thought his name was. Zak shrugged, "We'll know soon enough, I guess."

He shuttered and turned a complete circle, eyes locked on the rafter above him. Zak looked back at his list, "With me tonight will be Ruby, Hannah, Bobby, Greg" ,_damn it!_, "Cameron and James. Alright, let grab our junk and move in. Spend as much time with your friends right now because by tonight you may never see them again…"


	5. Chapter 5

Almost Lock Down

Hannah walked around the barn, feeling every inch of wall space, running her fingers over old tools and rusted hooks, feeling the energy flowing from them. These walls, these tools, all held secrets that would soon howl at the moon like wolves and she would find them… and she would hunt them…

"This stuff is kind of cool, don't you think" ,Greg asked as he came up behind her. She casually glanced over her shoulder and nodded, "Yes, in a way…"

"What do you mean?"

Hannah sighed and turned around to face him, ever since he met up with her in the lobby of the hotel that morning, Greg hadn't left Hannah's side. Only when they walked out of the manor on the hill, giving her only a minute to hold a short, meaningless conversation with Zak. She knew his intensions were friendly, but it was starting to annoy her, "Well, when you look at them, yes they're cool. Then you begin to think about all those murders and suicides and it just makes you start asking yourself 'did they use this' or 'I wonder if this is a murder weapon'. It kind of sends chills up my back."

Greg looked a little uneasy as he eyed the tools laying on the table beside Hannah. She had him scared now, maybe he'd choose to leave, he'd be the first to say "enough" if he did. Hannah turned and walked away, guiding her finger tips over the wall once again and fingering reigns that hung on a rusted hook. _No horses stayed here any more, why would they keep these?_, Hannah asked herself.

"Why do you think they keep this stuff here? Surely no one uses them. I mean, no one has lived her in a really long time" ,Greg said as he watched her touch the things left behind. Hannah shrugged, "My guess is for the ghost. They still live here…"

"Hannah" ,Ruby called from the barn doors, "you've got to come and check this house out. The upstairs is so creepy!"

Hannah smiled and walked briskly towards her, Greg hot on her heels. They jogged back up the hill and through the side door, up the stairs inside the manor, Ruby talking a hundred miles an hour, "I was here and then I felt something pulling me upstairs and so I walked upstairs and then I got really cold all of a sudden and then I was practically pulled into this other room where it looked like it was suppose to be some kind of secret room, like the Jews put in all their houses. You know, when they were hiding from the Nazis. Its just a little small closet space, that's it, but still it feels like an ice box in there…"

"Breathe, Ruby. You're turning blue" ,Hannah joked as they turned left and walked to the end room, supposedly the master bedroom. Ruby skipped over to a door and yanked it open, "Creepy, isn't it."

Hannah stepped inside, a bar hung along the wall along with a couple shelves, a closet is all it was. Ruby looked all excited, "Isn't it weird? Who would put something like this in here?"

Hannah turned and placed her hands on her hips, "Someone who is looking for place to store their clothes. Ruby, it is a closet. Its not a secret room."

"What? So I ran all the way to you, thinking I found something amazing and all it is is a stupid closet? What a rip" ,Ruby exclaimed. She tossed her hands in the air dramatically and began cursing at the ceiling. Greg and Hannah looked at each other, laughing. Ruby began walking in circles, blabbing away in another language that Hannah recognized as Russian, not knowing Ruby knew another language. She stepped out, "You didn't happen to have any caffeine today, have you?"

"Yeah, like three cups of coffee and two sodas. Why do you ask" ,Ruby asked as she began to shake a little but not out of nerves. Hannah walked over to her and grabbed her elbows, "Lay off for a while, you're more hyper than usual."

"It does feel kind of weird in here" ,Greg asked as he stepped in and turned a complete circle, "what closet has…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the door to the closet slammed shut, making Hannah and Ruby jump. Greg began banging on the other side, "Hey! Get me out of here! It won't open!"

Hannah yanked at the door knob, it refusing to budge. She looked over her shoulder, "Go get some help."

Ruby nodded and ran out of the room, screaming at the top of her lungs. Footsteps came from the stairs as everyone ran to see what all the fuss was about. Hannah placed one foot on the wall and began turning the door knob again, trying to pull it open. Greg kept banging on the wall, screaming, "Open up! Please, hurry!"

Hannah felt hands around her waist and looked over her shoulder to see Zak. Nick and Aaron stood behind him, all three ready to pull. Hannah nodded, "One, two, three, pull!"

They pulled on each other, Hannah feeling Zak's hands crush her abdomen. She winced at the pain, put kept pulling on the door knob. They relaxed at the same time, Greg still banging and pleading for them to open the door. Hannah gasped for air, "Again. Pull!"

They all heaved again, pulling on each other, Hannah pulling on the knob. Greg cried out one last time and then stopped, along with his banging. The door flew open and Hannah fell back into Zak, he into Nick and then into Aaron. Hannah straightened up and looked into the closet, Greg stood with his back turned to them, shoulders and arms tight at his side. He turned and faced them, his face was blank and white, scared out of his mind. Zak pushed himself to his feet, pulling Hannah with him, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" ,she waved him off and stepped towards Greg cautiously, "Greg, can you hear me?"

He nodded, the color from his face still not returning. She stepped beside him and rested a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay?"

He nodded, still pale. She turned to Zak, he watched them and then turned to Nick. Aaron still laid on the floor, "Next time, you guys are bringing up the rear."

"Did you get that" ,Nick asked one of the guys in the group, James. He nodded and handed the camera to Aaron, who was on his feet now, recording them as they stood in the doorway of the closet. Zak smiled, "Now we got something. That was, insane! Did you see that?"

"I can't believe we got it all on camera" ,Nick exclaimed as they high-five each other and smiled. Hannah shook her head as she guided Greg out of the closet, "This isn't some game!"

They turned and looked at her, shocked. Zak held his arms out in complete innocence, "We're just excited we got something. We're trying to prove to the world that ghost exist and now we really got something worth showing. How could you not be excited?"

"When someone's life is put in danger, it does not excite me. Something could have seriously happened to him. Just look, he's been scared half to death, possibly hurt and all you care about is catching it all on film. Next time, you take his place" ,she said as she stormed out, pushing Aaron's camera down to where it was pointed at his shoes. She guided Greg out of the room, past on looking eyes and down the stairs, outside to the fresh air. He stopped and leaned against the brick wall, "I'm okay…"

"Just breathe" ,Hannah said as she rubbed his arm, "breathe in deeply. That's good, keep breathing."

She watched as he inhaled and exhaled, placing a hand on his chest and shaking his head, "I've never been so scared in my life…"

"What did you see?"

He looked at her, "It was… I saw… I…"

"Its okay, you don't have to talk about it now" ,Hannah assured him. She kept stroking his arm and talking to him sweetly until he finally calmed down. The door opened and Zak stepped outside, "Hey man, you alright?"

Greg rolled his eyes, "Yeah, _man_."

Zak stopped and tightened his fist at his side, "Hey, I'm trying here. Cut me some slack…"

"No way, because Hannah was right. I was scared out of my mind, I did get hurt and all you wanted to do was get it on film. It could have been worse, _man_" ,Greg said angrily as he pushed himself off the wall and towards Zak. Both looked like they were ready to strap boxing gloves on and go at it, so Hannah stepped between them, placing her hands towards Greg and pushing him away, "Hey, calm down. This isn't the time or the place for this…"

"You know if you can't handle being locked in a closet for a couple minutes without wetting your pants, then why did you even bother coming" ,Zak barked back, stepping closer to him, almost crushing Hannah in-between them. She pushed them both back, but they stepped closer again, Greg with his fist at his side, "Oh really, and why did you come out here? Surely it wasn't to check on me."

"And what is that suppose to mean?"

"I think we all know what it means" ,Greg said as he looked down at Hannah. Zak took another step closer, this time crushing Hannah against the both of them. She gave Greg a hard shove, almost knocking him off his feet. She turned to where she faced both of them, "That is enough! He came out here because I barked at him for not checking on you, so back off."

Greg breathed heavily out of his nose, flaring his nostrils in frustration, "Fine."

She turned to Zak, "Stop being so defensive and just chill."

Zak sighed and rolled his eyes, looking down at the ground. Hannah turned back to Greg, "You said you got hurt? Where?"

He lifted the front of his shirt up and revealed bruises on his left side. They were perfectly round, like someone had punched him over and over. Hannah fingered the bruises, "Oh my God…"

Zak stepped closer and looked them over, "These are marks from a fist."

"That's what it felt like" ,Greg said as he pulled his shirt back down, "like it really wanted to hurt me. It stopped when I faced him and then the door just swung open."

"Did you see a face or something" ,Zak asked as he placed his hands to his hip. Greg shook his head, "Just a figure of a man. Tall, too broad to be a woman. Besides, I don't think a woman could hit that hard."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that" ,someone said from the door. They turned, the whole group had been standing there the entire time, watching. Kelly and Ruby looked at Hannah, concerned almost. Aaron was recording the whole time, making Hannah almost angry that he was taping everything that had just happened. She sighed and looked back at Greg, "Why don't you just hang out here for a while."

He nodded and turned, walking away. A couple of the guys chasing after him, followed by Lula and Erin. Some of them walked back into the house, only Kelly and Ruby remained from the group. Zoë watched from the window, watching Zak mostly. He paid her no attention and turned back to Hannah, "I tried…"

"I know" ,she said as she stepped past him. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back, "Hey."

Hannah looked past him, Kelly and Ruby turning to walk away. Nick and Aaron looked at each other and walked back inside the house, leaving them alone. She looked up at him, "What are you doing?"

"What are you doing" ,he asked her back, "barking at me like that?"

"He was hurt…"

"He knew the circumstances when he signed up, we don't guarantee things like this won't happen…"

"Whatever happened to it not as haunted as they say it is?"

"Billy must have rigged it, he said he was going to make it work. I didn't know he'd make it hurt someone" ,Zak said as he held her arm still, "you've got to believe me."

Hannah searched his eyes, he didn't turn her away this time. She sighed and dropped her arm, him letting her go, "I told you to call it off."

"And where do you come off" ,he asked, "who are you to tell me to call this whole thing off? Why are you even here?"

"To hunt ghost, like you and the rest of these guys" ,Hannah answered. He raised his arms and slapped them to his side, "I'm not so sure about that any more. If you don't want to be here than you can leave, no one is making you stay."

"I'm suppose to be here" ,Hannah barked, stopping herself before going any further. Zak crossed his arms, "Suppose? You just got lucky your name was drawn and slapped down on a piece of paper, a one in a million chances. There is no suppose, no fate, just pure damn luck honey."

Hannah just stared at him, crossing her arms in frustration, "If this gets out of hand…"

"We'll call the whole thing off" ,he answered her, "but its like I said, if you want to leave than no one is stopping you. If anybody wants to leave, it's a competition. Who can survive two weeks on a haunted plantation. If its too much for one than they can leave themselves. Too much for all of us, and we'll stop playing with fire."

Hannah sighed and stepped past him again, this time without being stopped, "If this happened in the day time, I can only imagine what will happen when the sun goes down."

Zak watched as she walked away, confused by all that just happened. Almost a month ago, all he got out of this place was his shirt pulled and poked, now they were coming out and fighting. _Should I rethink this? Was this possibly a bad idea?_, Zak asked himself.

Hannah reached Kelly and Ruby who were sitting under a tree not far from the manor. She flopped down beside them and laid on the grass, closing her eyes and letting the sun warm her entire body. Kelly and Ruby looked at each other and then at Hannah. She opened one eye to look at them , "What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? That was total insanity back there" ,Ruby exclaimed, no longer jittery like she was a few minutes ago. She fingered a strand of grass and shook her head, "That was enough to make anyone in your case…"

"And Greg's case" ,Kelly interrupted. Ruby nodded towards her, "And Greg's case to send them home running. You act as if its no big deal. The poor guy was locked in a closet, a closet you and three older men could not pull open. Aren't you in the least bit freaked out?"

Hannah shrugged, "Yeah, I guess."

"You guess" ,Kelly asked. Ruby pulled her knees to her chest, pulling her long skirt over them and hugging her knees closer, "Some of them were upstairs talking…"

Hannah waited for her to finish, but she didn't, as if she knew what she was going to say. Hannah shrugged, "About?"

"About leaving" ,Kelly answered her. Hannah looked up at her, she looked at the ground and then at Hannah, "they're already freaked out, and the sun has another hour before it sets. What's going to happen when its dark? Activity picks up later at night…"

"And some of them are seriously scared out of their minds, I'm scared out of my mind" ,Ruby said as she let go of her knees and let them fall down. Hannah looked up at her, she couldn't let these two get hurt, she had to make them leave some how. She sat up and looked at them , "Why don't you just leave then?"

"No way" ,Ruby said, "I'm staying, no matter how ugly it gets."

"Me too" ,Kelly said with a smile. Hannah nodded, "Then the three of us should stick together…"

"That's kind of impossible since Kelly is with a whole other group" ,Ruby interrupted. Hannah nodded, "I'll find a way."

"You can talk to Zak" ,Kelly teased. Hannah shook her head, "He's probably pissed at me right now. I'll talk to Nick or Aaron, work some kind of trade."

Ruby shrugged, "Whatever, but I think Zak would like it if you talked to him about it."

"Stop it, everyone is already getting suspicious and we haven't even done anything but hold two second conversations with one another" ,Hannah lied, not mentioning anything about last night. Ruby shrugged, "Well, you were with him for a while last night, which does make you two look pretty guilty."

"I think the best thing to do is to get these rumors to end before they start. I need to keep space between me and Zak" ,Hannah said as she looked down at the ground. She wanted to spend time with him like she did last night, she wished to be that close with him again, she wanted to give him another chance to kiss her, she wanted him and there was no denying the attraction between them.

_I have a job to do. Focus on why you are here_, Hannah told herself, _keep everyone safe. Get everyone out alive. Don't fail…_

"What's going on" ,Kelly asked as she pushed herself to her feet. Hannah turned to where she was looking, two people were walking towards the truck and throwing their bags in the back. Zak, Nick and Aaron followed up behind them and watched as they loaded in the truck, without saying good-bye. The three girls ran up to them before the truck started, Kelly throwing herself at the door, "Erin, where are you going?"

"I'm sorry Kelly, but I can't stay" ,she answered her back. She placed a hand over her's, "I'm terribly sorry, but I don't think I want to stick around and let things get worse."

Kelly nodded and stepped back. She stood next to Hannah and Ruby, they could read the sadness on her face. Lula tossed her bag into the back of the truck and jump in next to Erin. Zoë went running up to the truck, screaming and kicking gravel, "You coward! I can't believe you are backing out of this! You… stupid, no good coward!"

"I'm not a coward, and certainly am not stupid to stick around here. You saw what happened to Greg! The last thing I want is to be beaten up by some ghost" ,Lula said as she slammed the door shut and crossed her arms, looking straight ahead and paying no more attention to Zoë's out burst of cuss words and anger. She punched the door, "So you're just gonna leave me, damn it!"

"You can leave too, ya know" ,she said back. Zoë turned and took one look at Zak, "You're gonna have to drag my cold, dead body out before I just give up and leave over a few slaps to the hip."

Erin shrugged and faced the front again, "Whatever you want, but that can be arranged." With that said, the truck roared to life and pulled off down the driveway.

Zoë stomped on the gravel and threw her hands in the air, followed by one loud and dramatic, "Ugh!" She stomped off, leaving what was left of the group to look at each other and almost laugh. Zak cupped a hand over his mouth and shrugged his shoulders, Hannah knew he was laughing and trying to hold it back. As soon as Zoë was far enough to where she couldn't hear them, they all busted into fits of laughter. Ruby pointed in her direction, "I thought she was like twenty-three?"

"Acts and dresses like a thirteen year old" ,Hannah joked. They playfully pushed each other, laughing. When they finally settled down, Kelly rested her head on Hannah's shoulder, "What am I going to do? She was all I had in my group."

Hannah eyed Zak, who was smiling at the outburst that took place in front of him. She sighed, "I'll work it out…"

"You're not going to leave me, are you" ,Sam asked as he walked up and smiled at her. Kelly straightened up and returned the smile, "Well… uh…"

"By that" ,Ruby said as she wrapped an arm around Kelly, "she means of course not. She'd never do such a thing."

Sam's smile grew bigger, showing his teeth now. He had a beautiful smile, Hannah thought and knew Kelly was thinking the same thing. She blushed and looked down at her feet, typical Kelly. He held his arm out to her and she slipped her arm in and walked with him, looking over her shoulder and smiling at the girls. Ruby leaned against Hannah and smiled, "Don't you wish Zak would do that for you?"

"Oh, hush" ,Hannah joked, playfully pushing her. They turned towards the house and joined everyone else inside, leaving Zak, Nick, and Aaron out by themselves as the sun was starting to set.

~0~

Zak placed his hands on his hips, "A few minutes before the real lock down and we've already lost someone from each group."

"I didn't think Billy was serious about setting this place up" ,Nick said, "think he might have gone a little over board. What else has he done to the place?"

"Why don't you ask him" ,Aaron said as he pointed towards the road where a gold Chevy pick-up pulled in. Behind the wheel sat Billy, cowboy hate rested on his head, flannel shirt opened to reveal a sweaty white shirt underneath, hands covered in work gloves. No doubt he had been working before venturing up there. He stepped next to the guys and jumped out, "Saw Bo leave with three other passengers. List is already dwindling down."

"What did you do" ,Nick asked. Billy looked taken back from his question, "What on earth do you mean?"

"We had a guy get used as a human punching bag not but an hour ago" ,Aaron answered him. He pointed up to the second story window, "he was locked in some closet and when he came out, pale all over, muscles tight like he for real saw someone and when he lifted his shirt, he had bruises on his side. Don't you think that might be pushing it too far?"

"What on earth are you talking about? I didn't set anything up to punch the guts out of some boy" ,Billy answered. Zak jerked his head towards him , "You didn't?"

"No, just a few traps here and there. Pressurized air shooting from the ground and walls, things falling when you lean on something, things getting thrown and pulled, but never cause someone serious harm."

The guys looked at each other and then back at him, "So, those were real?"

"Yes. Why would I want to physically harm an innocent boy" ,Billy asked. They looked at each other again, all thinking the same thing. This was for real. Zak shook his head, "Maybe we should call it off…"

"Now wait just a darn minute there, city slicks" ,Billy stopped him, "some kid locks himself in a closet and mysteriously comes out with bruises on his side and you want to just pull the plug? For all you know he could've done it to himself."

"How did the door slam shut on its own" ,Aaron asked as he crossed his arms. Billy shrugged, "I don't know, did anybody see it shut on its own?"

They looked at each other again. Nick sighed, "Ruby and Hannah were in the room and she said Hannah had her back turned. Ruby wasn't paying attention either. Maybe he did slam it shut on his own…"

Billy pointed at Nick as if to say "See! I told you so". Zak sighed, "So, you think we should still go through with this, regardless of what took place?"

Nick nodded, Aaron shrugged, "Whatever you think is best?"

Zak rubbed his chin and looked down at the ground, examining Billy's old boots, "Alright, we'll keep her running. If this keeps happening…"

"I won't keep you from leaving" ,Billy said with a smile. They heard someone giggling behind them and turned to see Hannah and Ruby walking towards the barn. Hannah's eyes fell on Zak, his on her, watching her as she slowly walked away. He sighed, _Did I blow it? She must think I'm a horrible jerk…_

"Well take a look see here" ,Billy teased. Zak continued to watch Hannah, not paying him any mind. He reached up and snapped in his face until he turned back and looked at him, "Yes, what? What?"

Billy shrugged, "Nothing" ,he smiled mischievously.


	6. Chapter 6

The Dark Before the Dawn

Hannah pulled her pants leg over the cross bow strapped to her ankle, making sure there was no out lining of it showing through. She breathed, the doors to the barn were closing now. She pulled the secret hatch over the compartment in her suitcase and zipped it close, looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching. She climbed down the latter of the hay loft and joined the rest of the group, Ruby at her side, armed with a video camera. She smiled at her, "Ready?"

Hannah puffed out her chest to be funny, "I was born ready."

Ruby rolled her eyes, "Ha, very funny…"

"Alright" ,Zak said as he zipped his sweat jacket up, "we'll separate into pairs, some in the hay loft, some on the other side of the barn and some right here. Pair up."

Ruby grabbed Hannah's arm, "You are not leaving me…"

"I'd prefer if the girls remained close to a guy, just to be safe" ,Zak said as he eyed Ruby and Hannah. Ruby moaned, "Seriously? Have you seen the girl? She could probably beat you at arm wrestling."

Zak chuckled, "I'm sure she could. Its just to be sure."

Ruby moaned again and looked at Cameron, "Come on…"

"You act as if he's sentencing you to death" ,Hannah joked. Ruby jerked around, "I might die tonight, you never know! Don't joke like that, Hannah. So not funny."

They giggled as Ruby and Cameron climbed the stairs to the hay loft, leaving Hannah alone with Greg and Bobby. James was one of the three that had left not but an hour ago, making Zak's group much smaller. Greg flashed a smile towards Hannah, she rolled her eyes, "We'll hit the opposite side of the barn."

Zak nodded, eyeing Greg the entire time, _If he tries anything on her, I swear…_

They had walked off, Hannah keeping her distance from him as they disappeared around a wall. He heard them whispering and then footsteps climbing stairs, watching as Hannah popped up on the second floor, meaning she covered the far corner of the hay loft as Greg covered the floor. Zak turned to Bobby, "You hit the far stall, I'll hang out in this one."

Bobby nodded, "Cool."

"And keep your camera rolling" ,Zak said as he pressed the record button, "don't be afraid to ask questions. It's the only way you're going to get a reaction."

He nodded, "Got it." With that, Zak watched as he walked to the far stall and disappeared inside. Zak opened the one closest to him and sat down in the middle, closing his eyes and inhaling slowly, smelling the hay and old wood surrounding him. He jerked his eyes open and yelped, seeing someone standing almost directly in front of him. He blinked and they disappeared. He stood to his feet, "Bobby?"

"Yeah" ,he heard a distant call. Someone was walking towards him, "No, stay where you are. I just wanted to be sure you were where I told you to go."

"Been here a solid two minutes" ,he responded. Zak rolled his eyes, "Thank you."

It was quiet again, only the sound of his heart rate picking up could be heard. He stuck his head out the stall, "Talk to them, ask questions, make something happen. They're not just going to show up and land in your lap."

"Is someone here" ,Zak could hear Ruby directly above him, "why don't you come out and show yourself?"

"Did you die here" ,this time it was Bobby, "did you murder someone?"

"Who pushed the stable boy off of this hay loft" ,Cameron was challenging now, "come one, show yourself!"

"That a boy, Cam" ,Zak said with a smile. He turned back to his stall and walked a complete circle, clicking the record button on his recorder, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Do you want to go for a ride" ,someone asked behind him. Zak jumped, someone stood in the doorway to the stall, he could smell cigarette smoke. He squinted his eyes to get a better look, "What?"

It flicked something into the stall and disappeared at Zak's feet. He watched the ground, it was a cigarette. He looked up, she was directly in front of him now, the moon shining bright on her face. The blonde from the conference room, wearing the exact same thing she had that night. She walked slowly up to him, "You want that ride now?"

"How did you get in here" ,Zak asked, "those doors are locked from the inside…"

"Locked doors can't keep me away from you, baby" ,she said as she stepped closer to him, her breath smelled of rotten meat and cigarettes, making Zak's stomach turned. He blinked over and over, looking her over, "I'm in the middle of something, just leave the way you came."

"Why don't you come with me" ,she pressed a hand on Zak's chest. She curled her lip into a small growl and pressed harder against him. It burned where her fingers touched, making him step to the right and away from her, backing up slowly in the little space the stall provided, "Seriously, just leave. I don't have time for you…"

"But you have all the time in the world to do whatever your heart desires, baby" ,she said as she stepped closer. Zak stopped when his back hit the wall, she was pressing herself against him, "Honestly this is not a good time, please leave."

"It was a good time last night out in the parking lot, it was a good time when you washed your face in the bathroom, it was a good time as you drifted off to sleep, and I'm sure it's a good time now" ,she was running her fingers down his cheek and tugging at the zipper to his sweat jacket. He breathed heavily, "You were the one in my room last night."

"And in your bathroom and in your bed" ,she said as she pulled the zipper loose, biting her lower lip, "just one little taste is all I need."

He tilted his head up, keeping her lips from touching his, "You're not human…"

"I don't have to be" ,she growled as she gripped his shirt collar and made him face her, opening her mouth wide as if she was going to take a bite out of his face. Zak screamed for someone, anyone at this point. His scream was meshed in with another, this one coming from the blonde. She staggered sideways and hit the wall in the back of the stall, a small arrow sticking from the side of her head. She turned her back against the wall and screamed again, disappearing in a black fog and leaving the arrow to drop to the ground. Zak breathed heavily, swearing under his breath.

"What happened" ,Bobby asked as he jerked around the corner, followed by Greg and then Ruby. Zak looked up at them, cold sweats running down the back of his neck, "Did you see her?"

"See who" ,Ruby asked as she stepped in the stall and past the boys. Zak turned to where the blonde had disappeared, "That woman, she was physically right here. She was in the conference room last night, and my bathroom and in my bed!"

The guys looked at each other, all thinking he was crazy. Ruby raised an eyebrow, "We didn't see anyone, nor hear anything but you screaming."

"But she…" ,Zak started and then stopped, there had to be a way for him to prove he saw something. His digital recorder! He reached into his pocket and pulled it out, "Listen."

They stepped in close and leaned a listening ear towards his recorder. Zak pressed the play back button, _"Is there something you want to tell me?"_

"_You want to go for a ride?"_

"_What?"_

"_You want that ride now?"_

"Oh my God" ,Ruby whispered. Zak held his finger to his lips as they continued to listen, _"How did you get in here? Those doors are locked from the inside…"_

"_Locked doors can't keep me away from you, baby."_

"_I'm in the middle of something, just leave the way you came…"_

"_Why don't you come with me?" _A soft growling noise came over the speaker. Bobby shook his head, "Play back, right to where she asked you to go with her. I heard something right before the growl."

Zak hit the play back button and held it up to Bobby's ear. He listened closely and then looked up, "You can faintly hear someone say 'don't do it'!"

"Are you kidding me" ,Zak asked as he snatched the record back and held it to his ear. He listened closely, _"Why don't you come with me?" _

"_Don't do it…" ,a soft growl. _Zak straightened up, "I heard it, I heard it! There was someone else here… Did you guys get anything?"

They all shook there heads and looked at one another. Zak scanned their faces and stopped, "Where's Hannah?"

"What'd I miss" ,she said as she came around the corner, breathing heavily as if she had been running laps around the barn. Bobby turned and looked at her, "Where have you been?"

"Hey, its hard scaling the latter down without breaking your neck" ,she said as she placed her hands on her hips and looked around, "I missed something, didn't I?"

"Zak saw a full apparition and caught their conversation all on his digital recorder" ,Ruby exclaimed with a smile and then suddenly looked serious, "I think it was hitting on him."

"You've got to listen to it" ,Greg said as he snatched the recorder from Zak and pressed it against Hannah's ear. Zak's ears started to burn, but he inhaled quickly and let them cool off. Hannah took the recorder from him and held it closer, as if it were a phone and she was going to talk into it. She pulled it away and pressed a button, pulling it back to her ear, "I don't hear anything…"

"Impossible" ,Zak said as he took it back and pressed the playback button. Nothing but static came over the speaker, the recorder had been wiped clean! He swore and pressed it again, "It was just on here, they all heard it…"

"Yeah, he really did catch something" ,Cameron said as he stepped out of the stall, "maybe whatever it was, it'll come back."

"I sure hope not" ,Zak said as he rubbed his chest where she had pressed her fingers against him. It burned as he pulled his collar down to reveal what looked like four burn marks on his chest. Everyone gasped as Bobby pushed his video camera right up to him, "Look at that! This is incredible!"

"It sure doesn't feel incredible" ,Zak said as he rubbed the burn marks, soothing them only a little. He looked over his shoulder and at the wall where the blonde had disappeared, "Everyone return back to their stations, let try and catch something different now."

They all nodded and walked out of the stall, whispering to one another as they parted. Greg looked over his shoulder and at Hannah, "You coming?"

"Give me a minute" ,she replied as she stepped towards Zak. He bent over and picked something off the ground, a metal arrow only half an inch longer than his index finger. He rolled it around in his hand, a black syrup stuck halfway up the arrow. He turned and held it towards Hannah, "Whatever this is, it probably saved my life."

"You got lucky" ,Hannah said as she placed her hands on her hips. He looked up at her, "What makes you say that?"

"Whatever it was that attacked you could have done some serious damage. You're lucky you've only got a few burn marks and a souvenir."

He stuff the arrow in his pocket and nodded, "I've been doing this for a while, I get lucky all the time."

"One day your luck is going to run out, and then what?"

"We'll see when we get there" ,he smiled up at her and turned back to the stall, "in the mean time, I plan on figuring out how this happened. How can someone I saw only twenty-four hours ago attached herself to me and haunt me?"

Hannah shrugged, "I don't know."

He turned back to her, "What were you doing? What took you so long get here?"

"Well" ,Hannah said with a smile, "if I had known I was suppose to be here, I would've never left."

He shook his head, "You didn't see anything at all?"

"Just heard you screaming" ,she said as she crossed her arms. Zak nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, his cold sweats had finally ceased, "Don't wonder off too far, I don't want anything happening to you."

"I don't think you have to worry about me" ,Hannah said as she curved her lip into a half smile, turning and walking out. Zak watched her, leaning against the entrance of the stall, staring. She popped her left leg up and pulled at the end of her pants, almost as if she was covering something. He looked closer, thinking he might have saw something on her ankle, but shook the idea off and returned back to the inside of his stall. He pulled out his digital record, five second of a recording was left on there. He played it back and heard Hannah's voice come through the speaker, _"I don't think you have to worry about me."_

"_She'll save us…" _he jumped at the sound oh another voice, playing it over and over again until it was embedded in his brain, _"She'll save us… She'll save us… She'll save us…"_

"Who will save us" ,he whispered the question as he looked out to of the stall, "What are you trying to tell me?"

~0~

"You're really going to lock yourself in there after seeing what happened to Greg" ,Hank asked as he watched Zoë walk into the closet. She turned and shine her flashlight towards him, "Why not? It's a hot spot now, maybe something will happen to me."

"I don't think its such a good idea" ,Hank voiced as he rubbed the back of his neck. Zoë pouted in his direction, teasing, "You want to stay in here with me? I could use the company…"

"No way, I am not going to be used as a human punching bag for some ghost" ,Hank backed up and away from the closet door. It slammed close, making Zoë jump on the inside. Hank banged on the opposite side, "Oh s***! Zoë are you okay?"

"I'm fine" ,she giggled. He stopped banging on the door, "It won't open!"

"It will eventually, don't worry about me. I don't think I have anything to fear" ,she said so calmly. Her heart rate didn't change, she felt no immediate danger nor panicked. Hank stepped away from the door, "I'll sit right here, okay?"

"Whatever" ,she said back and sat on the floor in the closet, clicking her flash light off. She looked around in the total darkness, not even able to see the hand in front of her face, "Alright, come and get me."

Nothing happened. Zoë jerked her head left and then right, not seeing anything but total darkness, "Come on, you got the nerves to take on a boy twice my weight and size, come pick on me."

Still nothing. Zoë sat inside for five minutes, taunting and challenging whatever it was in there. She stood up and reached for the door knob, it wouldn't open. She sighed, "If you're not going to do anything to me, than open the freakin' door!"

Silence, not even a brush of wind came through. Zoë rolled her eyes, "This is just stupid…"

A child ran up her arm, she turned around and stood straight against the door, her breath coming out cold. She looked around, even though she couldn't see anything in the pitch darkness, "Is someone here?"

Silence, nothing moved, only the chill running from her wrist up to her shoulder and wrapping around her neck. She coughed, unable to breathe now. She tried to keep herself calm, but the chill around her neck was practically suffocating her. Zoë gasped for air, "What do you want?"

"Zoë…" it taunted in her ear. She gasped, still unable to breathe, "What is it?"

"Such a pretty girl" ,a chill ran down the side of her, almost feeling like cold hands. The chill around her neck felt like someone was choking her, as if it just turned into a hand and was wrapping itself tighter around her throat. She coughed and clicked her flashlight on, shining it in the face of a man. She gasped, "Daddy?"

He smiled at her, his eyes were dark and sunk into the back of his head, his skin was pale and cold, he wore a flannel shirt with grease stains on the front, blood trickled from his left head wound, "Yes, such a pretty girl."

She smiled, tears slowly running down her face, "I'm so happy to see you…"

"Shut up, bi***! You did this to me" ,he turned and pointed at the wound in his skull, fresh blood running down his neck. He pushed his face closer to her, "And after all I'd done for you. I kept a roof over yer head, I kept clothes on yer back, put food on the table and never once kept a short leash around yer neck. All you had to do was take the place of yer mother for me…"

"I couldn't do it any more" ,she was crying now, his hand had squeezed her neck even tighter, "I'd been playing wife since I was little and pleaded for you to stop."

"I'd stop when I was good and ready" ,he barked in her face. She cried out, more tears escaping down her face. He smiled, running his hand over her shoulder and down her front, feeling every square inch of her body, "Yes… very pretty."

"Please, no" ,she begged, "I don't want to do this any more."

He fingered her short, reaching back and grabbing her left leg, wrapping it around him, "Just like I remembered…"

"Stop, please" ,she cried even more. He ran his hand up and down her thigh, finger the bottom of her shorts, "I remember all too well."

Zoë moaned, crying even more as he fingered her. He reached up and cupped his hand over her mouth, "Hush now, baby girl. You're gonna get what you deserve. Now hold still" ,he said as he lifted the bottom of her shirt and kneeled, "this ain't gonna hurt but only a second."

She let out a blood curling scream as he bit into her left side, her blood running hot as if she felt him almost take a chunk out of her abdomen. She cried and pushed him away, surrounding herself in the pitch darkness. The door to the closet swung open and Hank stood on the opposite side, join by Nick and one of the other guys, Jack she assumed. She stopped screaming and looked at them, "What?"

"You screamed" ,Nick said as he reached in and pulled her out of the closet. She looked over her shoulder, her flashlight laid on the floor and shined against the wall, alone. The tears had stopped running down her face, her cheeks dry as if she hadn't been crying at all. She smiled, "What are you talking about? I didn't scream."

The guys looked at each other and then back at her, "Yes you did."

"Y'all are hearing things" ,she said as she walked back in the closet and picked up her flash light, "now if you'll excuse me, I've got some ghost to seek out."

They watched as she walked out of the room, paying them no attention or to anyone else for that matter when she passed by them. She reached the corner of the hallway and looked over her shoulder, lifting her shirt and hiding from anybody else who would be watching. She touched a sore spot on her side, feeling teeth marks but no blood. It had healed over, as if she had that scar for weeks now. It didn't burn any more like it had inside the closet, but it still seem fresh.

"What have you done to me" ,she whispered into the wall, being answered back by a throat deep chuckle. She turned around and looked down the hallway, seeing her father standing on the opposite end. He smiled at her, "Good seeing you again, baby girl."

Zoë gasped as he disappeared, leaving her to stand by herself. She looked around, no one else was in the hallway and there was no sign of her father, only the bite on her side. She cupped her hand over it and asked again, "What have you done to me?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Sweet Escape to the Take Over**

The sun was warm on Hannah's face, much better feeling than the cold barn not far down the hill. She smiled whenever she started thinking about last night, saving Zak from the entity that tried to attack him and having to play it off like she didn't know what had happened, it all just made her smile. "I should've been an actress" ,she said to no one in particular.

Ruby tilted her head to where she could see Hannah, "Did you say something?"

"How crazy was last night" ,she asked as she opened one eye and looked back at her. Ruby sighed, "I wish you could've heard the recording Zak captured before it got deleted. It was so weird…"

"How so?"

"Well, for starters it sounded like it was literally holding a conversation with him, no breaks or hick-ups. That's sort of weird" ,Ruby said as she sat up, "and then there was this whisper among the white noise… I still get chills just thinking about it. It was so hitting on him, too."

"Am I suppose to be jealous?"

"I don't know, are you" ,Ruby asked as the corner of her mouth curved upwards in a smile. Hannah smiled back, "Maybe…"

She poked her side playfully, "I can't wait for tonight. These lock downs have got me all… excited."

Hannah shrugged her shoulders and closed both eyes, welcoming the warmth of the sun, "Don't get too excited, we lost two more people from our hunt."

"What? Who?"

"Hank and Daniel, I think" ,Hannah said as she tried to recall the two boys that had packed up their suitcases and waved everyone good-bye. She smiled, "Makes my job a lot easier…"

"One night and we've already lost five people" ,Ruby said as she slapped her feet, "and where is Kelly?"

"She's sleeping, like what I'm trying to do and what you should be doing" ,Hannah said as she rolled over on her side, letting the sun warm her up. Ruby sighed and laid back down, tucking her hands behind her head, "We get the slave house tonight. I wonder what it was like for Kelly and Sam? Do you think they got any activity like we did?"

Hannah shrugged, "Who knows."

~0~

Zak played the recording back over and over, memorizing what was said, what time it was said at, all the way down to the pitch. He couldn't figure it out, was he suppose to understand this message?

"_I don't think you'll have to worry about me."_

"_She'll save us…"_

"She'll save us" ,Zak repeated the words. He closed his eyes and repeated it over in his mind, _"She'll save us… She'll save us… She'll save YOU!"_

His mind began to wonder, allowing the thought of dreams to swallow him whole. A playback from the previous night, the blonde backing him up in the stall, an arrow being shot through her skull, but where did it come from?

He asked himself this as if the scene in his head was a movie and he could press pause and playback all he wanted. He walked through the scene, pausing as soon as he screamed for someone, the blonde about to devour him. He turned, a shadow up on the second floor. Cameron and Ruby were on the second floor, they would have said something if they had seen this. He looked closer, hand-sized crossbow, aimed and ready to fire came out of the darkness. Someone was in the barn and literally saved him. He kept walking closer, but never seeing a face.

"Who are you" ,he asked aloud.

"I'm Nick and this is Aaron" ,Zak heard inside his mind. He jerked his eyes open, not knowing he was talking out loud. He rubbed his tired eyes, forgetting he had sprawled on the couch in the living room of the manor. He sat up and looked around, "How long was I out?"

"Maybe a couple hours" ,Aaron said as he cleaned the lens off his camera, "heard you guys had an eventful night in the barn."

"It was crazy" ,Zak said as he pressed play on recorder, listening to the recording again. _"I don't think you'll have to worry about me." "She'll save us…" click_

" 'She'll save us'? What is that suppose to mean" ,Nick asked as he propped his elbow on his knee and leaned in closer towards him, "who was the other person?"

"Hannah. I said something about being careful and she said I didn't have to worry about her. The thing I can't figure out is why it stopped recording, but picked up as soon as she said that. Do you think someone is trying to tell us something" ,Zak said as he rubbed his hands down his face. They looked at each other and shrugged. Zak sighed, "Another thing I can't figure out is why it deleted the other recording."

"Yeah, we heard about that" ,Aaron said as he set his camera on the floor, "freaky stuff, bro."

"How'd it go up here, Nick?"

Nick leaned back in his chair and slapped his hand down at his knee, "The usual, voices, poking and pulling. Slamming doors. Zoë ventured into the same closet Greg was stuck in last night and got locked in it. We heard her scream and when we jerked open the door, she just looked at us and shrugged it off, like nothing happened."

"You don't think she is playing games, do you?"

"I don't know what to think. From where I stood, I could hear her. She was begging and pleading, telling something to stop doing I don't know what. I could hear her crying and that blood curling scream… its just not something you can play off like that" ,Nick said as he shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck, "and I tried asking her about it. She won't talk, kept saying it was nothing."

"She has been acting rather weird since we all unlocked the doors" ,Zak had noticed when his group made the hike up the hill. All day she had been sending him flirtatious signals, watching him closely, skipping up to him whenever he was near-by. This morning, she ignored him, walked right past him and wondered out on her own, ignoring everybody for that matter.

"What about you, Aaron" ,Nick turned to him. Aaron smiled and picked his camera up, "Check this out."

They walked over and knelt down to where he sat, looking on to the small screen as Aaron pressed play. Zak could see his group, all huddled in the middle of the house, looking almost scared to wonder away from each other. A couple of them stepped away from the group and sat in the corner, right under a black X. They called out to the voodoo witch whose family was murdered by Mr. Young. It started out as small questions and picked up to taunts and loud challenges to show themselves. Some jumped and scream, claiming to feel cold chills up and down their arms. A mist formed in the corner of the screen and then disappeared.

"Wow" ,Zak responded. Aaron held his finger up to him, "Its gets better."

The camera swung around, you could faintly see a woman on the far wall. Her clothes were ragged, her hair was long and stuck out from her head, her eyes were black, she did not belong with Aaron's group. She was only on the screen for five seconds until it got all fuzzy and you couldn't see anything any more. Aaron smacked the screen, "Stupid piece of crap."

"Was that it" ,Nick asked. Aaron shook his head as he played back, trying to get back to the woman on the far wall, but never finding it. He stopped and replayed, only to be answered back with a blank screen. Aaron swore out loud, "Its been erased. All the footage I had from last night has been erased!"

"What" ,Zak said as he took the camera in his hands and tried it again, rewinding and playing, stopping and playing. Shutting down and turning back on, nothing. It was gone, all of it. He looked up, "That's what happened to my recording last night. I played it once and then it just erased itself."

"You think we're messing with something that doesn't want to be see or heard" ,Nick asked. Aaron and Zak looked at each other and asked themselves the same question. Were they?

"If we are" ,Zak spoke up first, "it would have cleaned out everything. We still have other recordings and footage from the group. We'll put it all on the laptop and keep it safe before anything happens to it. Tell everyone to not to mess with the equipment until its safely in our hands."

Nick and Aaron nodded, standing up and walking out the door to try and collect all that they could. Zak looked out the window to see Hannah and Ruby laying under a tree. Ruby laid perfectly still, asleep no doubt. Hannah rolled over from her left to her right side, pulling on the blanket underneath her. He pushed himself off the couch and slowly walked to the door, _"She's going to save us…"_

"Who's there" , he turned around to see nobody. He had heard something, someone had whispered in his ear. He looked left and right, he was alone. Zak pushed the door open and stepped out into the sun, walking towards where Hannah was laying. He sat down next to her and looked at her, "Having trouble sleeping?"

She opened one eye and looked up at him, "I can manage on a about an hour or two."

Ruby moaned and rolled over, making Hannah sit up and shift off the blanket, "She can have it now."

Zak chuckled, "So what did you think of your first night lock down?"

Hannah stretched her arms above her head, popping her shoulders and neck, "It was pretty cool. Not much happened on my side and Greg got really annoying after a while, but I liked it enough."

Zak nodded at the sound of Greg's name, "You know, I can have him move to another group so he won't bother you any more."

"I don't know who he bugs more" ,Hannah said with a smile as she looked up at him, "me or you?"

Zak nodded, "You're right about that…"

"Why do you not like him so much? He's just a guy."

_A guy that can't get enough of you, _Zak thought, but didn't feel like voicing it out loud. He shrugged, "Seems like he gets on your nerves. I just want you to feel comfortable…"

"You want me to feel comfort yet you locked me in a haunted barn last night and plan on doing the same inside a slave house" ,Hannah asked, teasing at the same time. Zak smiled, "Yeah, I guess that's not a very legit excuse."

"Ya think" ,Hannah said with a giggle. Ruby moaned next to her and rolled over, making Hannah whisper, leaning closer to him so he could hear her. She placed a hand on his arm, "I think we should wonder away from my sleeping friend."

Zak agreed and pushed himself up, offering his hand to Hannah. She slid her hand in his and allowed him to pull her to her feet, waiting a few second before letting go of her. He liked to touch her, let her know that he was here and not going anywhere any time soon. He liked the feeling of her smooth, feminine hand in his. He wanted to hold her closer, not just her hand…

"Come on" ,she motioned away from Ruby, towards a field. He followed closely behind her, picking up from a brisk walk to a light jog. Hannah looked over her shoulder and giggled, "Keep up if you can."

He smiled and sped up, right on her heels. She jerked left and then right, twirling circles and laughing in the middle of the field. He stopped and watched her as she danced on her tip toes, jumping in the air and landing ever so gracefully on the ground. He placed his hands on his hips, "Are you a dancer?"

"I was for about twelve years" ,she said as she spun a circle around him, kicking her toe up above her head, "I think its fun."

"You're acting like a total child" ,he laughed as she kept twirling circles around him. She never lost a beat, still twirling, "I could do this for hours."

He liked this side of her. She was not the serious, teasing type all the time. She had a playful side to her, a side that he couldn't help but smile at as she twirled circles around him, jumping in the air and clicked her heels together, kicking her toes above her head. He shook his head, what was she doing to him?

Hannah stopped twirling and faced him, one leg behind her, foot turned sideways to steady her. Her hands lay fixed at her side, she blinked a few times, "Okay so maybe not hours. I'm all dizzy now."

He reached out and touched her waist, making her a little more steady. He was standing up against her, looking down into her eyes, "I could watch you for hours."

She smiled and stood straight up, taking his hand, "Come with me."

Zak followed a step behind her as she lead him through the rest of the field and into the thick woods, ducking under branches and limbs, avoiding thorns and stickers. She pulled him along, glancing over her shoulder only a couple times until they reached an opening. When she pulled him through, she showed up a flowing river directly in front of him. He smiled down at her as she released his hand and slipped her shoes off, walking ankle deep into the cool and refreshing water. He did the same, "How did you know this was out here?"

"Every plantation is near a river, I just took a wild guess at where this one might be" ,Hannah said as she kicked the water. He walked down and stood beside her, pulling his pants' legs up so they wouldn't get wet, "So, if this wasn't here, we'd probably be wondering around in these woods lost?"

"We wouldn't be lost, we'd be with each other" ,she said as she leaped in the air and landed in front of him, smiling to her fullest and showing her teeth. He chuckled, "I like the sound of that."

This was going against all he had promised himself. Both of them had promised to keep distance from one another, but for some reason they just couldn't stay away. The opportunity for Zak to be alone with Hannah would come up more frequently, and he wasn't sure he wanted to keep his space any more. For the first time since the night she had an asthma attack in his room, she was drawing close to him and not backing off. How long would his promise last anyways?

Hannah kicked the water and smiled down at her reflection, "Vegas has nothing on these country hills and streams."

"But they have nice lights and plenty of things to do."

"Like clubbing or catching a show" ,Hannah teased as she kicked her toe above her head one more time and twirled to where her back was to him, "I prefer a more natural setting. Let the stars be my lights, nature be my entertainment…"

"Don't knock it till you try it" ,Zak replied as he kicked the water, splashing Hannah a little. She turned to him, mouth dropped, kicking water back. He laughed and knelt down, splashing her more and more. She turned and laughed, continuing to kick. He jumped up and wrapped his arms around her knees, picking her up off the ground and spinning a circle. She laughed, "Zak… put me down."

He set her down to her feet, still holding her close, "As you wish."

They stared deeply at each other for a moment, he was swimming in her gorgeous green eyes, losing himself more and more as each second passed by. He grinned, "You're doing it again."

"Doing what" ,she asked as she took a half step back, still allowing him to hold her waist. He tilted his head, "That thing you do with your eyes. You look at me as if you were searching my very heart and soul."

"I don't have to look at you if you don't want me too" ,she teased as she turned her back to him, not glancing over her shoulder to see if he was still smiling or not. He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him and whispering in her ear, "I never said I didn't like it."

She placed her hands over his, turning her head slightly so she could see him out of the corner of her eye, "This goes against everything I've ever said. We're not suppose to be this close…"

"Living comes with taking risks" ,he whispered in her ear. She closed her eyes and leaned against him, "I can't…"

"Why not?"

She didn't answer him right away, just stared straight ahead, possibly thinking. He touched his lips to her neck, "Why did you bring me out here?"

Hannah sighed, "I figured you could use a break from all that ghost business. Sometimes its just nice to get away from it all and not worry about it."

He held her tighter, "Every time I look at you… You're like my sweet escape from the world."

She turned to face him, her dark curls laying over one shoulder. Zak brushed another one behind her ear, his heart pounding against his chest. He was afraid should could hear it if she stood too close, but then again he wanted to pull her closer. He cupped her face in his hands, touching his forehead down to her, feeling her breath against his face. Just like back at the hotel, so close and so intimate, it was now or never. She didn't turn, didn't fight him off. Maybe she was slowly letting him in…

"Whoa now" ,Ruby exclaimed from the top of the hill, "the others are not far behind me. Save some room for Jesus."

Hannah stepped back, "Thank you, Ruby."

"Yes" ,Zak said through his teeth, "thank you, Ruby."

She shrugged, "Hey, what are friends for." She kicked her shoes off and sat down near the bank, letting her feet lightly touch the water, "Chilly."

Zak looked over at Hannah, she gave him a slight wink and walked over to sit next to Ruby, whispering in her ear, "Way to kill a moment."

"Whatever happened to keeping space between you and him" ,Ruby asked with wide eyes, "you two didn't look very spacious to me."

"I was just getting him away from all this ghost business" ,Hannah said with a smile. Ruby returned the smile, "Well, I think you succeed there."

They were interrupted when the others came running down the hill, kicking their shoes off and splashing through the water. Zak joined them, laughing and splashing everyone that ran in. Hannah smiled, so much for trying to not mis business with pleasure. How did people do that anyways?

"Come on, Zoë" ,Bobby called from the water. Hannah looked up to see Zoë sitting under a tree, holding her stomach as if she were in pain. Sweat trickled down her face, like she had been running for miles instead of taking a short hike through a field. She looked up, no amusement writing across her face, just pure anger, "No."

Bobby was taken back by her comment and walked up to her, "Come on, its nice and cool. It feels really good."

"I'd rather not" ,she barked back, not happy one bit. Bobby grabbed her arm , "Come on…"

Zoë drew back and scratched him on his forearm ,making him yelp in pain. Everyone stopped their kicking and looked up, Bobby was holding his arm as a trickle of blood seeped through his fingers, "Lighten up, I was only trying to kid with you."

"I am not one to be kidding with" ,she snapped back and turned, walking back to the plantation. Hannah watched her, something wasn't right with her at all.

"Are you okay" ,Nick asked as he jogged up to Bobby and looked at his arm. She had scratched him deep enough to draw blood, it running down his arm. _What does she have, _Hannah thought, _knives for fingernails?_

Bobby was fighting back tears, rather they be painful tears from his wound or just hurt feelings, Hannah couldn't tell. He shook his head, "I was only joking."

~0~

Zoë walked faster back to the manor, glad to be away from everyone and all their merriment. She clamped her fists together and growled, "Stupid, stupid boy! He should've taken my first warning."

"He's only a boy" ,the woman to her left responded, quickly walking next to her, "he did not know any better."

Zoë's eyes narrowed in on the house, "Take no for an answer and like it."

The woman slowed her walk, still on Zoë's heels. She had a heavy Jamaican accent, her hair was twisted into dreadlocks and hung over her shoulders and down her back, her dark skin was painted with white and blue colors, her body dressed in a heavy brown dress that hung loosely over her shoulder and was tied around the waist. She smiled, "Come child, no since in getting worked up over a silly little boy."

"He'll pay" ,she growled as she stormed through the side door, slamming it close. She walked a complete circle around the living room and flopped on the couch, her toe tapping the floor board. The dark woman knelt in front of her, "Calm down, child. This is no way to start out in a new body…"

"Well I hate this" ,she said as she looked at her arm, pinching the white flesh until it turned blue, "I don't see why they find this so attractive, its disgusting."

"Its temporary, my child" ,she said as she brushed Zoë's head and the side of her face, "soon you will have a body you love."

Zoë looked up at her, shaking her head over and over until she felt like herself once again. She looked left and then right, her stomach hurting, "What's happening to me?"

"Let go Zoë" ,the woman said as she pet her head again, "bring Kia back."

"No" ,Zoë replied as she fought back the pain in her gut, "tell her to get her own body. This one is mine."

"No Zoë" ,she smiled down at her, "not any more."

Her left side her so bad. She lifted her shirt to reveal the spot where her father had bitten her the night before. She fell on the ground and screamed, the wound on her side was oozing, but not blood. She cried, "Why did you do this to me?"

"You brought this on yourself" ,she smiled down at her, "your father only wanted your love and you killed him for it."

"Its not my fault" ,she cried, "he was trying to hurt me. Please, make it stop."

The woman knelt down to her, "Let it go, Zoë, and it will stop."

She looked up a her, gritting her teeth together, "Who are you?"

The woman smiled, "Madame Pandora."

Zoë winced at the pain, "You b****! You're the one that cursed this place…"

"Oh no, I had some help with that" ,she smiled, "bringing all the poor, innocent souls to come and have their devil worship only made my curse more powerful. Feeding on their bones made me even stronger."

"Go to hell" ,Zoë managed to squeeze out between her teeth. Madame Pandora shook her head, "I've already been and I brought my daughter back with me. Let her go, Zoë or she'll claw her way out from the inside."

Sweat trickled down her face, the pain was almost unbearable, it engulfed her entire body and took over. Zoë screamed and then rolled over on her back, falling limp when she closed her mouth. She pushed herself to her knees and threw up on the floor, wiping her mouth when it was done. She looked up at Madame Pandora, "She's tougher than she looks."

"Zoë" ,Madame Pandora asked. She pushed herself to her feet and smiled, "She is no more."

She smiled, "Good. Bring me three fresh ones. Take your time."

Zoë smiled at her, "As you wish, mother."


	8. Chapter 8

Disappearing Act

"What do you think we're dealing with" ,Hannah said over the phone as she leaned against the tree, hiding from the group that was now making their way back to the plantation. Philip sighed over the phone, "We don't know yet. You said you saw this woman two days ago? Alive?"

Hannah rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah."

"Well, we're checking all the newspapers and internet updates, but we're not finding anything" ,Philip said as he clicked the keys on the keyboard, "I've got Jakob looking in on it as well. He's been gone for a couple hours and I haven't heard any word back."

Hannah looked over her shoulder and around the tree, Ruby had stayed behind to wait for her, holding her knees and picked at the fallen leafs around her. She sighed over the phone, "Anything yet?"

"Nothing yet. I'll call you as soon as I hear something from Jakob. Be careful!"

Hannah nodded, "Will do."

After closing her phone and sticking it in her pocket, Hannah stepped around the tree and jumped to see Ruby standing there. She smiled at her, "Whatcha doin'?"

"I was just talking to my brother" ,Hannah lied. She hated lying to Ruby because over the past couple days, she was like her best friend. Ruby grinned, "Is he cute?"

"He's my brother" ,Hannah giggled as she began walking up the hill and towards the field. Ruby skipped beside her, "I saw you and Zak out here earlier. You should've seen him watching you as you danced around him. Oh, it was so romantic."

Hannah watched as Ruby began to copy her dancing motions, kicking her toes in the air and attempting to pull her leg above her head but dropping it when she pulled it as high up as she could. She gasped for air, "You made it look so easy."

"I have also been dancing for the past twelve years" ,Hannah giggled again as Ruby stepped beside her and looped her arm in her's. She smiled up at the sun, "I just thought it was so cute, and the way he looked at you. Oh my goodness, Shakespeare could not have written out a better scene."

Hannah watched everyone who were a good few yards ahead of them, clearly out of hearing range. She sighed, "It might be the last time we can get alone like that. We really don't need to be getting that close, but… I just couldn't help myself."

"Is he a good kisser" ,Ruby said as she moved her eyebrows up and down quickly. Hannah's mouth dropped, "I don't know!"

"Yet" ,Ruby finished her sentence, sticking her tongue out and teasing her. Hannah shook her head, "Like I said, might be the last time we can get alone like that. Maybe when all this is over…" Hannah stopped, she didn't know what would happen when it all was over. She'd return back to Birmingham, he'd go back to Vegas and then what? Was she to forget about him?

"Lets worry about that when it gets here" ,Ruby skipped a step ahead of her and continued walking, "What do you think has gotten into Zoë? She basically attacked Bobby back there."

Hannah nodded, her behavior was very strange, even for her. Just a few days ago she was threatening her for Zak's affection and now she was attacking a poor guy who just wanted to joke around with her. She loved the attention from all the boys, why would she lash out at one of them?

"I overheard some of them talking" ,Ruby interrupted her thoughts, "they said she was acting weird yesterday during their lockdown. You know she got in that closet Greg was in and the same thing pretty much happened to her, remember? The door slamming shut and not opening. A few minutes later, they heard her screaming but when the door popped open she just smiled at them like she was just kidding."

Hannah raised an eyebrow, "What do you think?"

Ruby shrugged, "I don't know, that's why I'm asking you. We should so team up and be like Sherlock Holmes and Watson" ,Ruby smiled as she clapped her hands together in excitement, "oh, it'll be so much fun! I get to be Sherlock."

Hannah rolled her eyes, "Alright Holmes, lets try it out."

~0~

Ruby walked a small circle inside the closet, Hannah standing at the doorway just in case the door decided to slam close. She crossed her arms and smiled, "Well, Sherlock."

Ruby tapped her chin as if she was thinking, "There is nothing here."

"Well thank you, Dr. Obvious" ,Hannah teased. Ruby pouted and placed her hands on her hips, "Its Detective Holmes to you, Watson."

"Really? Role play?"

"You were the one that stated you should be an actress" ,Ruby stuck her tongue out at her. Hannah straightened, "I thought you didn't hear that."

"Oh honey, I hear everything."

Hannah shook her head, "Okay Holmes, I think we should get out of here…"

"What are y'all doing up here" ,Kelly asked as she came around the corner, Sam right behind her. Ruby jumped and placed her hand over her chest, "Goodness gracious, don't ever scare me like that again!"

"Sorry" ,Kelly answered back as she stepped beside Hannah, "but that doesn't answer my question. The guys want everyone stayed clear of the closet."

"And I want a cherry red Ferrari, but we don't always get what we want" ,Ruby snapped back as she turned back to the closet and walked all the way to the end, propping a hand against the far wall, "I don't get it. Two people get locked in here and both have something happen to them. It doesn't seem all that haunted at all. No cold spots, no weird voices, its just a regular twelve by twelve closet."

Hannah pointed a finger at her and stepped in, "Actually, I think its more of a twelve by fifteen…"

"Oh, who cares! It's a closet" ,Ruby said as she raised her hands above her head and slapped them against her leg, walking out towards the door, "lets go, Watson."

Hannah smiled and followed behind her, stopping when she felt a brush of cold air on her arm. A hand, it felt like someone was trying to grab her arm. She looked over her shoulder and saw a dark man, ragged old clothes hung on his body, he was frail and slender, his eyes were dark and carried worried bags. He didn't frighten her, he seemed too nice to scare her. She stared at him, not saying anything, him staring back.

"She's here" ,he said. Hannah never blinked, "Who is?"

"My sister" ,he replied, holding her forearm even tighter, "she's gonna get ya if you ain't careful. Stay clear of this place, Miss Hannah."

"How do you know my name?"

He smiled, "We all know who you is. Get rid of them and then yourself, it ain't safe. She's a coming."

"Who? What?"

"Are you coming" ,Ruby came back and poked her head around the corner, "what are you doing?"

Hannah turned to her and then turned back, hoping the man would still be there, but he wasn't. She turned back to Ruby, "Nothing, I just decided to take a look myself."

Ruby nodded and then looked down at her arm, her mouth dropping open when her eyes saw her bruise, "Is that a hand print?"

Hannah looked down at her forearm and sure enough, a bruise in the perfect shape of a handprint. The hand that held her tightly and told her to leave, The hand belonging to the ghost that knew her…

"Oh my gosh! This" ,Ruby grabbed her arm and pulled her from the closet, "this is… we have to show someone."

Hannah let Ruby pull her through the hallway and down the stairs, barking at everyone to come and look at Hannah's arm. Everyone's mouth dropped and they all began asking questions at once, like "What is that?" "Where did you get this?" "Did this just happen?". Hannah never answered, she was too busy trying to figure out what had just happened. A ghost, possibly of a slave that worked there and murdered by Mr. Young, telling her to leave, his sister was there? Who was he? More importantly, who was his sister?

"Let me see" ,Hannah could hear Zak's voice from outside the door, his face had concern written all over it. Kelly had stepped out and told them, making Zak rush to her aid, though she honestly didn't need any. Everyone parted for him as he stepped up to her and took her arm in his hands, his fingers gently grazing over the bruise. He never looked up at her, "Does it hurt?"

She shook her head, "No."

"Where did this happen?"

"Upstairs…"

"Were you in the closet" ,she jumped at the change of tone in his voice, going from concern to anger. His eyes flashed, partially anger but mostly worry. She swallowed the lump in her throat, "Yes…"

He tugged at her arm, pulling her outside, "No one leave this room."

They all watched as Zak pulled Hannah outside, possibly to scold her. Hannah didn't need for him to scold her like she was a child, she knew what she was doing even if he didn't. He looked in Nick and Aaron's direction, "Find out if anyone else was in there and remind them its not the place to be. Anyone else that goes in there from now on will be escorted home."

They nodded and stepped inside, Zak still pulling Hannah away from the house, possibly away from listening ears. He looked at her, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I decided to investigate the space. I found it odd that two people have almost the exact same thing happen to them in the exact same place."

"Who are you, Sherlock Holmes?"

"Actually, I'm Watson" ,Hannah teased, but Zak was in no laughing mood. He looked up towards the sky and sighed, "I can't have you going in there any more…"

"You can't tell me what to do and what not to do."

"Actually I can. I'm the one leading these lockdowns and if I don't feel you're fit to stay then I can have you in the next truck homeward bound" ,Zak said as he dropped her arm and placed his hands on his hips, showing he was in charge. Hannah copied his hand gestured and looked up at him, "Then do it?"

He didn't answer her, didn't move at all. He stared into her eyes, trying to find a reason to send her off, but none of them beat the answer to why he would want to keep her around. She tapped her finger against her hip bone, "Well?"

"Don't challenge me like that" ,he whispered. She shrugged, "Why not?"

"I think you know why I can't" ,he said as he stepped closer to her. Hannah took a step back, in no mood to be close to be close to him like he wanted her to be, "I think that can't is more of a won't."

"It doesn't matter, I can't…won't… make you leave unless you want to" ,he looked deep into her eyes, the same way she looked into his, looking for some kind of truth. She was taken back, "Are we talking about the same thing, here?"

He smiled and shook his head, "Just promise me you won't get yourself into any serious trouble. I might not be able to save you every time."

"I'm not the one that needs the saving" ,Hannah replied back, making Zak tilt his head in confusion. He rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head, "I'm a little lost when you say things like that. What are you trying to say or not say?"

Hannah bit her lower lip and looked up at him, "Don't worry about it. In the end, I'll be okay."

He still looked confused, but let her turn and walk off, not questioning her any more. His mind went back to the recording he had captured, _"I don't think you have to worry about me." "She'll save us."_ He looked up and watched as she disappeared into the house. "She'll save us" ,she said aloud, "She… Hannah?"

~0~

Hannah walked around the corner, feeling the crossbow strapped to her ankle rub her bare skin. She kicked her ankle up and moved it around, grimacing at the pain. Greg looked over his shoulder and flashed his light at her, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I think I just rolled my ankle or something."

"Want me to take a look at it" ,he started to get down on his knees, but Hannah held a hand out to him and took a step back, "No, its nothing. Just a little uncomfortable, but its fine. Honestly."

Greg looked up at her and tried again, "I know all about ankle injuries, trust me. No to mention I give a mean foot rub…"

"As lovely as that sounds" ,Hannah said as she stepped back again, "I think I'll survive without one."

Greg shrugged and pushed himself up to his feet, "So what was this afternoon all about?"

Hannah looked up at him, "What do you mean?"

"Did Bagans get on to you for climbing in the closet? I seriously thought he would send you packing or something."

Hannah shrugged, not telling anyone about her and Zak's conversation. She looked over her shoulder and then straight ahead, "I thought so to, but apparently he didn't. Yeah, he did get on to me, said I needed to watch myself or I'd be on the next truck homeward."

Greg shook his head, "Maybe we should throw him in there…"

"Why?"

He shrugged again, "He's very pushy. Its his way or the highway…"

"Comes with being in charge" ,Hannah interrupted. Greg looked down at her, "You're quick to defend a guy that yelled at you for being somewhere haunted, though that is why you sign up for this thing anyways."

"He never yelled at me" ,Hannah said as she stepped farther away from him and stood in the far corner of the slave house, "I think this is a good place to set up."

It wasn't very big, four rooms and all connected. There were no doors and only one window in every room, giving off very little light in the middle of the day. She slid to the ground and crossed her legs, careful of the metal against her bare skin. Greg flopped next to her, his legs almost on top of her's, making her slide over even more. He looked at her, "You two seem very friendly."

"Well, when you give a give a guy a chance instead of barking at him or one little slip up, you can open a lot of doors" ,Hannah answered back, not really in the mood to discuss her and Zak's relationship. Greg shook his head, "So if I had just told him I was fine instead of getting all snappy with him, we'd be like best friends?"

"Ya never know until you try" ,she ran her finger over the wooden floor, her finger picking up a mixture of dust and dirt. She rubbed her finger against her thumb and wiped it on her pant's leg, "why all the questions?"

"Seems weird that you two are either walking off together and leaving the group behind."

"He was getting on to me, saving me from humiliation. The river thing was all me, I showed him where it was incase he needed to get away…"

"And last night when you hung around his stall while everyone else took their posts back?"

Hannah rolled her eyes, "I was making sure he was okay. No one else seemed to have done that."

Greg leaned his head against the wall behind him, "So, there is nothing going on between you two? You are completely unattached?"

Hannah didn't like the way this conversation was going, it made her uncomfortable to discuss her relationships, especially with a guy who had no business knowing. She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them, "It is how it seems."

"And how would you say it seems" ,Greg asked as he leaned towards her. Hannah sighed and was about to tell him to back off when she heard a scream in the next room. They both jumped to their feet, and listened at the sound of someone running. Zak's voice flowed through the whole house, "Nobody move."

Ruby's voice was followed by his, along with her muffled crying, "My leg. Something hit my leg."

"Go check on her" ,Hannah pushed Greg in the direction of her crying.. He looked back at her, "His majesty just told everyone to stay where they are."

"Yes, but you know all about leg injuries" ,Hannah gave him another shove. He turned back to her, "Ankle injuries…"

"Oh, what's the difference? Tomato, potato, its all the same."

"No its not…"

"Just go" ,Hannah shoved him one more time, this time he didn't turn around and fight her. She let out a sigh of relief as soon as he disappeared around the corner of the open door, leaving her to be by herself. She looked around and whispered, "Okay, I have a feeling that you're here. I'm all alone now, so…"

"Thanks for getting rid of the weird one" ,someone had said off to her left. Hannah turned to face him, the same man that grabbed her in the closet. She crossed her arms, "I'm glad someone else recognizes that. Now, who are you?"

"George Freeman" ,he said with a smile. He was missing a couple teeth, but still had the friendly energy rolling off of him. Hannah nodded, "Okay George, you obviously know me…"

"Oh yes ma'am, we know all about you."

"Who is this 'we'? You talk as if you are not alone" ,Hannah said as she watched him closely. He didn't move, just fiddled with his thumbs as if he was nervous, "Well, me and my friends. We been her a real long time, as you can imagine. It took me years to actually show myself, but I been able to talk to humans an awful lot. My friends prefer to be unseen, my sister would get made if she found out I been talking to you."

"Who is your sister? Why would she care?"

George kicked his feet, creating a cloud of dust to surround their ankles, "They call her Madame Pandora. She keeps all of us in check, damning all them that tried to escape her power."

Hannah nodded, "What kind of power does she hold over you?"

"The power to keep us here forever and take the lives of humans. She is mighty mean, which is why you should leave right now…"

"I'm not leaving without the rest of my friends" ,Hannah motioned towards the door where Ruby laid, crying as Greg felt the knot on her shin. George shrugged, "Get them to leave too."

"Its not that easy, I've already tried. Do you think you could someone do something to make them all want to go home?"

"We're all trying. We been talking to them, warning and threatening all them. I had to knock the funny one down…"

"You hurt Ruby?"

"Oh you know her? She's a character" ,George said with a smile. Hannah shook her head and pressed her fingers to her brows, trying to think, "So let me get this straight, you're the one that made yourself look like an actual human being, that is still alive apparently, and you attacked Zak?"

"No ma'am, I never let things get that drastic" ,George answered her as he shook his head back and forth, "I don't have that kind of power anyways. I can only make myself visible, I can't make myself into nobody."

"Then who did?"

He didn't want to answer her, but Hannah dropped her arms, for she knew the answer to her own question, "Your sister, Madame Pandora, tell me about her."

"She done voodoo for centuries. She the one that probably attacked your friend."

"Why?"

George looked around, "I can't say here, its too dangerous."

"What place isn't" ,Hannah whispered back. George nodded, "Good point. I can't stay much longer, she'll find out I've been talking to you and then its over for me."

"You can't leave, I have too many questions" ,Hannah reached out to him, knowing she wouldn't be able to grab him. He shrugged, "You'll find out the answers in your own way."

"But…"

"Its just a bump on her shin, nothing too serious" ,Greg said as he came around the corner. Hannah turned to him and smiled, "Great!"

He looked at her, she seemed upset and somewhat confused, "Are you okay?"

She rubbed her brow again, "Yeah, just fine."

Greg chuckled, "What, did you see a ghost?"

Hannah smiled, "Something like that…"

~0~

Zoë peeked through the window of the stall, he was by himself. She grinned, "Stupid boy."

Kale jerked around and shined his light through the open space of the window, "Who's there? Is there anyone here? Show yourself!"

Zoë jumped through the window and looked at him, startling him and making him jump back, "All you gotta do is ask nicely, ya know."

"Zoë? Why aren't you on the other side of the barn?"

"I need some company" ,she said with a smile and walked closer to him, "I was all lonesome by myself. What if something tried to eat me?"

Kale rolled his eyes, "Fine, whatever. Just, keep your distance, you're kind of weird."

Zoë placed her hands on her hips and looked him up and down, "You say I'm the weird one. Look at the way you're dressed."

Kale looked down and acknowledged his skinny jeans and V-neck shirt, his jacket was thin and tight, and he wore a brightly colored belt. He raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong with the way I dress?"

Zoë rolled her eyes, "Its so unattractive."

"I don't dress to attract anyone but me" ,he said as he turned his back to her and walked to the far corner of the stall, "now shut up and start talking to the spirits."

Zoë smiled and walked closer to him, "Whatever you say."

Kale looked around, clicking his flashlight off, "Is there anyone here?"

"Oh someone is here, alright."

"Zoë, shut up, I'm not talking about you!"

"I'm not talking about Zoë either. She ain't here anyways."

Kale turned to face her, she was standing inches away from him and coming closer. She curved her lip up into a smile and ran the back of her hand down his face, "Its just you and me."

"What do you mean Zoë's isn't here" ,Kale asked as he back into the wall, scratching at the wood, looking for an escape. She smiled, "She's not here. Gone, poof, disappeared."

He pressed his back against the wall, her hand running down his neck and chest, "Who are you then?"

She smiled, "Your worst nightmare."

He screamed as her hand dug into him, her fingers reaching in his chest, blood flowing from the wound. He screamed and cried in agony, gripping her hand and trying to pull it away, "Stop! Stop!"

She pushed deeper, smiling as her fingers reached further and further in, making him scream loud and louder. Blood sprayed on her face, dripping on her lips. She licked them, "Yummy."

Nick jumped over the last step at the bottom of the latter, running as fast as he could while carrying a camera, to where he heard Kale's screams. He stopped when he saw the door to the barn wide open, knowing he had closed and locked it a couple hours ago. He walked over to where the door was and looked out, seeing someone running away from the barn. He turned around to see Zoë standing behind him, hands behind her back, smiling, "What is it?"

He looked back out, not seeing the running figure any more, "I thought I heard Kale."

"Yeah, he got grabbed in a not so pleasant place" ,she said with a smile. He raised an eyebrow, "How did the door get unlocked? I hold the key."

"Maybe you didn't lock it" ,she answered again with a shrug. Nick looked back out and then back at her, seeing something on her face. He leaned forward and touched it, making her lean back and raise an eyebrow. He looked at his finger, seeing it was covered in a red syrup, "You have blood on your face?"

Zoë touched the spot he had just swiped it from, cleaning it off, "Yeah, I think I cut myself or something. Weird stuff around here, never know what might have attacked me."

Nick raised an eyebrow, "Just be careful, okay?"

She nodded her head and turned to walk back into the stall. Nick looked around and pulled the barn door close, locking it back again. He looked around one more time and headed back towards the latter, making his way up to the hayloft. Zoë crotched near Kale's lifeless body, listening to every creak above her head, knowing Nick was returning back to his post. She pulled his body towards the window and lifted it with ease, tossing it out and onto the ground. She looked back up at the ceiling, waiting for someone to break the silence. Someone started yelling questions, something bumped into someone and everyone freaked, exclaiming how they could feel someone. Zoë smiled, "Stupid humans."

She jumped through the window and next to Kale's body, dragging it by the wrist up to the house, smiling and laughing the whole way.


	9. Chapter 9

Busted

Nick jogged up the hill to meet up with Aaron and Zak. He sighed and looked around, "Have you seen Kale?"

They shrugged and looked around as the group all walked past them and into the manor, "He's not with you or the rest of the group?"

"No. I haven't seen him since last night" ,Nick ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, messing up what he had just slicked back, "he screamed once last night, but I didn't see him. I was told he was okay… I should've checked on him."

"Maybe he just jetted out early and went home or something" ,Aaron was trying to think positive about the whole situation as the last few people left in their group walked in the house, "maybe he just couldn't handle any more lock downs."

Zak eyed everyone, thinking if they knew something he didn't. Kelly, she was too innocent and shy. Greg, he didn't care as long as he got to be close to Hannah. Hannah, there was one topic he didn't want to discuss. Zoë, a weird subject. Her attitude had changed since the first lock down, she was so quiet and too herself, and the way she watched him now. Her hazel eyes flashed almost a sign of warning as he tried to read into her. She was no longer flirty, but scary. He shrugged his shoulder, tearing away from her evil glance, "Did you ask anybody?"

Nick shook his head, "Not since last night. I don't think anybody knows anything."

"We'll ask anyways" ,Zak said as he turned back to him, hearing the sound of truck tires coming up the gravel road. They all turned to see Billy in his pick-up, stopping only a few feet in front of them, kicking up dust. They guys coughed and waved the dust away from their faces as Billy stepped out and walked up to them, "Morning, how did last night go? Find anything unusual and spooky?"

"Actually we did" ,Zak started, "we got a girl with a welt on her shin and one of our boys seems to have disappeared."

Billy stroked his chin, though it supported no beard, "Weird. Which one was it?"

"Kale" ,Nick answered him, "short, dark hair, a little on the skinny side."

"Oh yes, I saw him" ,Billy said with a smile, "he was sitting next to Bo in his truck. Poor kid looked scared to death, all bug-eyed and pale."

Aaron looked at them as if to say "I told you so". Nick let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness, I was thinking something really bad happened. Zoë said the poor guy got grabbed last night."

Billy's face scrunched up and he crossed his arms, "You boys best keep a close watch on them. Ya never know if something bad is going to happen to them."

"Its not like they're going to start disappearing on us" ,Aaron said with a chuckle, "I know this place is haunted, but its not that bad. Right?"

Billy shrugged, "Don't think too much into it, your mind will start wondering and then that's when things will get really bad."

Zak looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?"

He turned and jumped back into his truck, turning the key in the ignition and pulling it into drive, "Make sure you keep a clear mind before your dreams start coming true."

The guys looked at each other and watched as Billy drove off, leaving them behind in a cloud of dust. They coughed once again and started to walk towards the house, "Did anybody else see him leave or Bo arrive?"

Aaron shrugged, "We were inside the house all night and never saw his truck. Didn't hear it either."

The door swung open and out walked Cameron and Cole, both carrying their luggage, stopping dead in their tracks when they were face to face with the guys. Aaron rubbed the back of his neck and frowned, "Going somewhere?"

Cameron dropped his head, avoiding their eyes, "We uh… we were just talking and well, we don't think its worth it any more."

Zak chuckled, "You want to leave?"

"Its not you guys, its us" ,Cole said as he slipped his hands into his pockets. Aaron chuckled, "What are we, breaking up? I'm hurt. I feel dumped."

"Yeah, I think we've had more guys leave than girl" ,Nick said in a teasing voice. Cameron shrugged, "Hey, if I was gay, I'd be into y'all too."

"What does that have to do with anything" ,Aaron asked. Cole patted his shoulder, "Good luck, my friend."

The guys looked at each other and watched as Cameron and Cole picked up their stuff and began to walk down the end of the gravel drive way, the guys just watching them knowing that their group was slowly shrinking. They started with twenty people and within three days have shrunken down to eleven. They walked inside, bodies laying everywhere. Some sprawled on the couch, on the floor, across the table and at the bottom of the staircase. They were all tired, the bags under their eyes said so along with the faded energy from their face. The guys felt tired as well, they all needed to sleep somehow.

"I could really use a nap" ,Andria mumbled as she placed her head in Justine's lap. She stroked her hair and leaned her head on the back of the head rest, "Me too, babe."

"You don't think it would be too disrespectful if some of us grabbed the beds upstairs" ,Ken asked as he pushed himself to his feet and pointed up the stairs. Greg chuckled, "You won't find me up there, that's for sure."

Hannah stood to her feet and began walking up the stairs, "Not all of us are chickens though, now are we?"

Greg looked up at her and crossed his arm, frustrated at how she called him out in front of everyone. Ruby giggled and tugged Kelly's arm, "You going up there? I don't want to be by myself."

Kelly looked over at Sam who smiled, "I'll sleep on the floor."

Zak watched as the four of them walked up the stairs and separated into rooms. Kelly, Ruby, and Sam into one, Hannah off by herself in another. Justine and Andria stayed on the couch as some of the guys walked outside to lay out in the sun. Nick elbowed Zak, "There's another room on this floor and one upstairs. Which one you call?"

Aaron jogged to the steps, "I'm taking the one upstairs. Everyone man for himself."

Zak shook his head, "Go ahead take the one on this floor, I'll find somewhere else."

Nick shrugged and walked past the staircase, disappearing into a room underneath the stairs. Zak looked around, the girls asleep on the couch already, Ken curled up on the floor with his sweat jacket draped over him like a blanket. He chuckled and stepped past him, crawling up the stairs, looking over his shoulder as he climbed to the top, looking both ways before deciding where to go. He took a deep breath and stepped up into the room where Hannah had gone into. She turned and looked at him as the door opened, "Hey."

He closed the door and walked up to her, sitting next to her on the bed. Her green eyes looked weary into his, she was drained after three days and very little sleep. He tucked a strain of hair behind her ear, "How are you?"

She smiled, a weak smile but it was convincing enough, "I'm fine, just a little tired. How are you?"

He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands and smiled, "Same here. The past couple nights have been a little crazy, don't you think?"

Hannah nodded, giving him a small smile, "You can say that again. I am just so wiped out."

Zak slid back on the bed and laid down, resting his head against the pillow, patting the empty space next to him, "Why don't you lay down then?"

Hannah giggled and shook her head, "What kind of girl do you think I am?"

"One that is tired and needs to sleep, now get over here" ,he patted the bed again, chuckling as she watched him. She pulled herself up next to him, cuddling up close to his side. He wrapped his arm under her and pulled her closer as she hugged his waist, resting her head on his shoulder. He began to stroke her arm, not saying anything, but listening to her breathing. His lips touched the top of her head, kissing her hair, "Tell me something."

"Anything you want" ,Hannah replied as she looked up into his face. He looked down at her, deep into her eyes, "Why is it that all these people have chickened out, yet you stick around?"

Hannah shrugged, "I don't know, I guess I'm not that easy to scare."

"I think there is something else" ,he said with a smile, "a certain somebody, perhaps?"

She grinned, "Ruby, Kelly and Sam of course…"

"Anybody else" ,he asked with pleading eyes. She bit her lower lip, teasing now, "Well, Greg isn't half bad…"

"Seriously" ,Zak asked as he wrapped his other arm around her, leaving no space at all between their bodies, "what keeps you going?"

"What keeps you going? Obviously you have some type of drive to lock yourself in a haunted place and still have the nerve to keep doing it."

"I drive to show the world that there is a paranormal out there" ,he answered her honestly, all serious and no teasing, "I do this for all the skeptics out in the world. You're turn to answer."

Hannah smiled and leaned her ear against his chest, listening to his heart beating through his shirt, "I guess I just want to be sure everyone is okay."

"Why wouldn't I be" ,Zak was teasing again. Hannah giggled, "Not just you, but everyone else as well. Nick, Aaron, Ruby, Kelly and Sam. Ken, Greg and Bobby, Jack and Joey Andria and Justine."

She stopped, Zak had noticed she hadn't said Zoë's name. He kissed the top of her head again, "Why would you do that?"

She sighed, her only answer. She wanted to tell him, she didn't want to keep her job a secret any more, especially from Zak, but she had to. If she were to reveal herself to the world, chaos could strike. He did this to make them believe there was a paranormal, she did this to make them believe there wasn't. Two opposites under one roof, in one bed, in each other's arms.

Hannah closed her eyes, "I guess you can say its my job."

He didn't care, he was just glad she was still there, with him, in his arms, alone. She pulled herself to where when she laid her head down, she could see him fully in the face. She rested a hand on his cheek, losing herself in his blue eyes. She felt like she was drowning in his stare, losing herself more and more to him as he leaned closer and closer. She should pull away, needed to pull away, but didn't want to. What was more important right now? Her want or need?

At this moment, staring into his eyes, looking into the face of the man she was head over heels for, her want and need were the same thing. Him.

She leaned closer, placing her lips on his for the first time. He pulled her closer, holding her tighter, afraid to let her go. She pulled herself closer to him, deepening the kiss, letting herself surrender to him. His hands caressed her back, tucking his fingers through her belt loop, pulling her on top of him. She pushed against his chest, pulling herself away from him, gasping for air as she sat up. He pushed himself off the bed and pulled her closer, kissing her again. She hugged his neck, pressing her body against his. He slipped his hands under her shirt, feeling her bare stomach and back, pulling the shirt over her head.

She gasped, running her hands over his chest, his stomach, pulling his shirt off. She tossed it over to the side and pulled herself back into him, pushing him back down on the bed. He rolled over on top of her, kissing her lips, her neck, her shoulders. Hannah began to breath heavily, feeling his bare back, every muscle, every definition. She wanted more of him…

Someone walked by the door, she could hear the footsteps in the hallway. Zak stopped and rolled off, pulling his shirt off the ground and back over his head, Hannah doing the same. She laid back down on the bed and motion Zak to find somewhere to hide. He laid on his stomach and rolled under the bed. The door opened, Zak watched as footsteps approached the bed. He held his breath as they walked closer, standing next to the bed. Hannah looked up, "Greg?"

"Hey" ,he said as he sat on the bed next to her, "I figured you didn't want to be left alone, so I took a chance."

"A stupid one" ,she said as she laid back down, "I prefer to be by myself when I sleep."

Zak felt like punching his ankles out from under him, but that would give away his position and he knew Greg would blab about Zak being alone in a room with Hannah. He knew it didn't look good…

"What if something tried to come in and get you? You're going to some type of protection" ,he said with a grin, creeping his hand closer to her leg. She sat up and grabbed it, twisting it around to where his wrist popped, but not break. He yelled in pain and pulled back, "Shit Hannah, what the hell?"

"I already told you, I prefer to be by myself when I sleep" ,Hannah repeated as she stood up and walked over to the door, pulling it open, "now get out."

"You know" ,Greg said as he cradled his wrist in his opposite hand, "I bet if I was Bagans, you'd let me stay…"

Zak couldn't take any more. He slammed the floor and rolled out, pushing himself up and running up to Greg, "You shut your f***ing mouth and leave her the f*** alone."

"Oh, this is just rich" ,Greg chuckled as he looked Zak in the eyes, "I'm not surprised to find you near by…"

"You have over stayed your welcome" ,Zak barked, pushing him out of the room, knocking him to the floor. All the doors opened to the hallway, everyone was wide awake to see what was going on. Greg grimaced as he pushed himself to his feet, "Fine, I know when I've overstayed my welcome."

Hannah stepped in front of Zak and placed a gentle hand on his chest, "calm down" ,she whispered to him. She turn and watched as Greg staggered up right and looked at her, cradling his wrist still, "I can see you two were a little…"

"She told you, she wanted to be left alone" ,Hannah was surprised to hear Zoë's voice. She stood at the top of the stairs, her hazel eyes piercing into Greg, threatening. He swallowed hard, everyone was silent. She just stood there…

"Okay" ,Aaron broke the silence, "I think we're all just a little tired. Everyone return back to your rooms, catch some sleep."

Everyone slowly closed the doors to their rooms, Nick stepping past Zoë and pulling Zak by the sleeve, "Meeting, now."

He turned and looked at Hannah, apologetic. She returned his glance and slowly closed the door to her room, leaving the guys to stand alone in the hallway. Greg had staggered down the stairs, Zoë following close behind him. Nick pushed both Zak and Aaron into the room Aaron had occupied, closing the door behind him. Zak placed his hands behind his head and turned a circle, he knew he had messed up by being alone with Hannah, but he just couldn't help himself…

"What the hell, Zak" ,Aaron said as he pointed towards the door, "you were in her room? You pushed some poor kid? What is going on?"

"I don't know" ,Zak said as he leaned his head and fists against the wall, knocking his left fist hard against it, sending a piercing pain through his wrist and down his forearm. He turned and looked up at the ceiling, "It was a stupid mistake… I shouldn't have gone in there, but nothing happened. It was simply a wrong place, wrong time."

"That's not what it looked like" ,Nick said as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't know what we're suppose to do about this. It looks bad on your part because she is a competitor in this competition…"

"You think I don't know that" ,Zak snapped back as he pushed himself off the wall and faced them, "you think I didn't go over all the consequences in my mind! I made a mistake, that is all."

Nick and Aaron looked at each other and back at him, "What do we do now?"

Zak shrugged, "I don't know. We need to clear things up with everyone first, be sure nobody leaves with the wrong impression."

"I think another thing to do" ,Nick started, but hesitated to finish. He sighed and started again, "I think you and Hannah need to be separated. We'll put her with another group, Aaron's group, just to be sure nobody continues to get the wrong idea."

Zak didn't like the sound of being separated from Hannah, but what else was he to do? He didn't want to send her home, nor did he want to call the whole thing off now. He'd find a way to be alone with her again… soon!

"Okay" ,Zak agreed and walked circles, ending over near the window. He looked down and could see Greg standing with Zoë, they were talking. Maybe arguing, he didn't know. She was a peculiar figure, the way she kept to herself, but then her sudden out burst to defend Hannah. Something about her wasn't right and he didn't feel comfortable, especially with the way she stared at Greg, threatening, frightening. Things had been so weird lately.

~0~

Zoë watched as Greg stormed off, swearing under his breath and holding his injured wrist. She smiled out of the corner of her mouth, "It'll all be worth it… in the end."

He glanced over his shoulder and swore again, walking away until he was a safe distance from her. She felt someone touch her shoulder, turning swiftly to see who it was. Standing there was Bobby, his face looking very apologetic. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, "What?"

He ran his finger through his thick brown hair, "I just… wanted to apologize for making you mad yesterday. I didn't mean to, I was just joking."

"I know" ,she said back, arm still crossed and watching him sternly. Bobby clapped his hands together and nodded, "Its like Aaron said, I think we're all just tired and its getting to our heads."

Zoë stepped closer, placing a hand on his shoulder. He gritted his teeth for her fingers burned his bare skin, "You are so pathetic. You tease and you poke fun at and all for what? All for the affection of someone much older and more mature? You are pathetic, worthless…"

"I said I was sorry" ,tears spilled over his eyes, he suddenly felt depressed and saddened, not sure where all this emotion came from. She chuckled and stepped past him, "We'll see how sorry you really are."

The tears came faster down his face, stinging his eyes. Depression swept over him, it was only a joke, he never meant to make her truly mad. He turned and watched as she walked off, grinning to herself, whispering, "Stupid boy."


	10. Chapter 10

Jakob's Discovery

Jakob tapped his toe as he pressed the dial button again, running his fingers through his thick. brown hair, something he always did when he was nervous. He sighed, "Pick up, pick up, pick up…"

After a few second of the ringer, he stopped and on the other line came a slow and groggy, "Hello…"

"Hannah! Thank God, I've been trying to reach you for hours now" ,Jakob barked. He heard a lot of fumbling around as if she was searching for something, mixed with her whispering swears, "I'm sorry, I was asleep and couldn't hear my phone going off. Give me a second to find a place to talk."

Jakob flipped the paper in his hand, reading over and over the information he had captured, making sure he was reading it right. In big letter on top of the paper read, _Baseball Champion Checked into Mental Rehab._ He tapped the table, "Okay, now?"

He heard Hannah sigh and answer back, "Okay, go ahead."

"I did some digging on all the missing person cases" ,Jakob started as he spread out all the files and paper that laid all over the table in front of him, "all the same thing. Last heard they were going to be up at the Young-House Plantation and never heard from again. Never seen, not even a sign that they have been up there."

"Okay, so a few teens go out on a dare to sleep in a haunted manor and never come back. Sounds like all the cases I've dealt with…"

"Not a few, hundreds, almost a thousand have all been reported missing. Dude, I can fill an Olympic swimming pool with all these reports, all gone cold. They say no one comes back from spending time up there…"

"I know the story, Jakob" ,Hannah snapped. He straighten up and stared at his phone, "Well, sorry."

Hannah sighed and rubbed her eyes, "I'm sorry, I'm just really tired and it seems like we're getting no where with a background check."

"I have something that drowned under all the missing person cases. No one even remembers this case" ,Jakob said with a smile. Hannah's ears perked as she pushed him to continue. Jakob pulled it out and read it to her, "Its about fifty years old, the guy would be in his mid-sixties now, but he is the only survivor after five of his other friends disappeared up where you're at. Its crazy scary what he says about this place. I know if I didn't believe in all the stories, I'd think he's crazy…"

"Okay, what is that he said" ,Hannah interrupted him. Jakob sighed, "Said they came into contact with the witch, Madame Pandora, and she promised them a safe passage. Two of them went with her and the other four backed out. He said he doesn't know what happened to his two friends but he watched the others get murdered."

"Hmm" ,Hannah tapped her chin, thinking hard on this new-found information, "how is it that he managed to get away while everyone else got murdered?"

"I plan on finding that out" ,Jakob said with a smile, "I made an appointment to meet him at the mental institution."

"Don't they only allow family?"

"Yeah, but that's not stopping me. I did a background check, he has a nephew named Georgie Wilson that visits him every now and then. He's an upcoming baseball star just like his uncle, named after him too. Reincarnation, I don't believe in. I'm working on a fake identification as we speak."

Hannah smiled, "Thanks Jakob, I don't know what I'd do without you."

He nodded, "How are you holding up?"

She sighed and looked around, though she was sure she was far from anybody's listening ears, "As good as I'm going to get. Things are a little weird, but I work with weird so nothing out of the usual. You know something, I kind of wish you were here."

"I knew you'd miss me" ,Jakob said with the biggest smile on his face. Hannah giggled, "Don't flatter yourself. Let me know what you find out after your meeting with 'Mr. Crazy'."

Jakob chuckled, "I will. Please, take care of yourself."

"You too, pup" ,Hannah said as she flipped her phone close. Jakob placed his phone on the table and rested his chin in his palm, looking over all the papers in front of him. So many people… so many deaths… so many…

"What you got here, pup" ,Philip asked as he came up behind Jakob. He shuffled quickly, tucking the headline clipping about the older man who made it out of the Young-House Plantation. He looked over his shoulder and answered him, "Just a bunch of missing person reports, trying to find some connection or clue to help Hannah out."

Philip rolled his eyes, "I already looked over all that shit. Just put it back and find something useful to do."

Jakob rolled his eyes as Philip left the room. There were things about him Jakob didn't like, one of them being his bossy attitude. Whenever Hannah wasn't around, he walked about like he owned the place and was in charge. Not to mention he couldn't help but feel like Philip was hiding something from all of them. Though Hannah wasn't there to find it right away, Jakob felt like he needed to keep a close eye on Philip and withhold any information he had from his prying ears, only sharing what he knew with Hannah.

Jakob stood up and collected all the reports and shoved them back into their files. He sighed as he neatly stuffed them in a box and closed the lid, only keeping the clipping. He turned the lights off and walked out, ready to meet with Mr. Dean.

~0~

"Georgie Dean, your nephew is here to see you" ,the male nurse said as he slid back the cover to the window. Georgie looked over his humped shoulders, his gray eyes old and lifeless, his lips and brow dropping downward showing his age. He shuffled his feet as quickly as he could, his face lighting up at the sound of his nephew's visit, "Its been a while."

The door opened and standing at a solid five feet seven inches, broad shoulders and thick arms, was Jakob. His hair was just above his eyebrows and pushed to the left side, his eyes were like two bright blue sapphires. Georgie didn't know who this boy was, but it wasn't his nephew.

Jakob walked up to him and placed an arm around his shoulders, "Hi ya, Uncle Georgie."

The door closed and they waited a few seconds before saying anything. Georgie looked up at him, "You are not my nephew."

"I know, but I really need to talk to you, so please don't send me away" ,Jakob said as he squeezed his shoulders a little tighter. Georgie looked at his hand and back up at him, "Keep touching me and I will, fagot."

Jakob removed his hands and held them up as if to show he was stepping back, "Yes sire, as you wish."

Georgie hobbled over to the closest seat and slowly sat down, "State your name and business, boy."

"My name is Jakob and I've come to talk to you about the Young-House Plantation…"

"Get out" ,he barked. Jakob held his hands up again as if to calm him down, "No, please sire, I really need to know this stuff. It's a matter of life and death."

"That place is why I'm locked up in this popsicle stand" ,Georgie said as he pushed over a pile of books and papers he had stacked on his desk, "I hate that cursed place."

"I know, but sire please. My friend is up there…"

"Get your friend out of there as fast as you can. That is, if they're still alive" ,Georgie stood to his feet and hobbled in circles, "I need a drink."

"I didn't think they served alcohol in mental institutions" ,Jakob said with a smile. Georgie looked over his shoulder and grinned, "I know. Why else do you think I get so excited when my nephew comes to visit."

Jakob watched as he pulled a covered bottle of prune juice out and uncapped it, taking a quick swig and placing it back in its spot on a shelf. He wiped his mouth and pointed at Jakob, "Don't breath a word about this, ya hear me boy?"

Jakob nodded, though he was much older and weaker than him, Georgie came off as a threat to Jakob. He knew he didn't want to offend him in any way. He looked around and slipped his hands into his pockets, "I need to know…"

"You want me to talk about that cursed plantation, eh boy? Hmm, well pull up a seat and get comfy, its to be a long day for you, son" ,Georgie replied in a much calmer voice now as he hobbled back to his chair and slowly sat down. He let out a sigh of relief and smiled at him, "I remember when I was your age… How old are you, boy? Sixteen? Seventeen?"

"Fifteen, sire" ,Jakob replied with a smile. Georgie nodded, "Yeah, you got a long way to go. I use to spend all my days outside on the baseball field, smacking the ball around, pitching and sliding. To be on that old field again… I'll bet its covered in grass and weeds now. The city gave up on that place after a while. I use to be just as big as you are now, boy. Big and dark from all my days of baseball."

Jakob sighed, knowing he shouldn't be rude and interrupt his trip down memory lane. Besides, he figured no one else listened to him, maybe he just needs a listening ear. He propped his elbows on his knees and listened carefully. Georgie closed his eyes and grinned, "Oh, I'd give anything to be out on that field again…"

Jakob watched him, a tear escaped from the old man's eyes and slowly slid down his face. He sniffled and wiped it away quickly, blinking over and over so no more would come, "Who am I kidding, I been locked up here for fifty some years and they don't plan on releasing me any time soon. Yes sire, I'm a regular nut case or so they say. After being here a while and seeing what they hold them in, its enough to make any sane person lose their mind. No wonder they got so many troubled ones around here, they ain't gonna get no better."

Jakob nodded, "These places scare me, to be honest."

Georgie chuckled, "You don't even know the half of it. Now, I know you didn't come to listen to babble on about my youth and this nut house. The plantation, oh boy, I remember it clear as day. I see it every night when I go to bed, relive that horrid night every night… carrying scars for the rest of my life…"

He leaned closer as the old man's voice began to fade, stepping off the bed and crouching down by his side. The old man's eyes grew wide and his mouth was shaped in the perfect O, like he was seeing something that wasn't there. Jakob waved a hand in front of his face, "Mr. Dean?"

He shook his head and stared at him, "Boy, who do you have up at that place?"

"Uh, a friend…"

"Any more?"

"Well, there were about twenty other people up there…"

"Dear God, what have you done?"

"What do you mean? What's wrong?"

Georgie sighed, "Get comfortable, I'm gonna have to start from the beginning."

Jakob sat on the floor at Georgie's feet, listening to his every word. He sighed, "My friends and I dared each other to do big, horrible things. None of us had ever passed up a dare, that was like the ultimate disgrace in my time. We would do things like climb to the top of the water tower and jump off into the lake, hide out in cornfields and jump out to scare cars that passed by, jump tree branches without ropes and try not to fall or break anything… We were fearless.

"Johnny was his name, Ol' Johnny boy is what we liked to call him. He had this bright idea of staying all Halloween night up at the plantation, Halloween being the scariest night of the year. He dared us, double dog actually. That was the ultimate insult, you might as well have told me I threw like a girl. I couldn't have that, none of us could. Course Ol' Johnny boy didn't go of course, since he wanted to be sure we came home alive, so the six of us went up there by ourselves. Stephen and his sister Hyde, Mary and Frank, me and the love of my life… Natalie."

Jakob could see tears swelling up in his eyes as he said her name, like he was tasting it, remembering all he could about her. He turned around and opened a drawer to his desk, fishing around for something. Jakob leaned a little closer and jumped back when he turned around, holding a picture. His finger caressed the edges, a broken smile split across his face, "She was the most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on. Them baby browns would make my heart beat so fast, her smooth red hair was like silk around her shoulders, and her smile… it melts my heart still."

He handed the picture to Jakob, wiping a tear from his face. He looked the picture over, seven people, two sitting on the ground looked like brother and sister, both smiling. He guessed that was Stephen and Hyde. Two others were crouched down behind them, one a female with short hair and the other a male with hair that cover his ears. He was placing a baseball cap on her head, both grinning at each other instead of the camera, Mary and Frank he assumed. The three standing behind them, one he could tell was a younger version of Georgie, square jaw, thick neck and shoulders, baseball cap turned backwards, leaning closer to a beauty that Jakob guessed to be Natalie.

"She's beautiful" ,he said aloud as he studied the picture, looking over their faces until he handed it back, knowing he would remember that picture forever. The perfect picture of happiness and love. The guy on the other side of Natalie disturbed him though. He wore a grim half smile, not to nice looking but not completely evil looking either. Something about him sent shivers down Jakob's spin. He pointed at him, "Is this Johnny?"

Georgie nodded, "Not the cutest puppy in the litter, but he was alright. He was like a brother to me, even after we brawled over Natalie. She was the beauty queen at our high school, every guy wanted her. Ol' Johnny boy and I had a wrestling match over who was gonna ask her out. I won, of course that sent him into a state of depression and constant swearing whenever he saw us together, but one day he just got over it. Started chasing Hyde around after a while.

"Anyways, the deal was whoever voiced the dare had to sit out and see if we was man enough to go through with it. If we didn't, we would hold our heads into buckets of ice water until we couldn't handle it any more. It was a sign of humiliation, to us at least. If we did go through with it, successfully, the one who sent out the dare had to streak at the next sports gathering. Yeah, we had a lot of them…"

"Why did you guys do this" ,Jakob asked with a disgusted expression on his face. Georgie shrugged, "Son, we lived in the middle of no where with nothing to do, we had to entertain ourselves and at times the people around town. No hush up and don't ask questions."

Jakob sat back and listened as he continued, "Now we went up there, armed with only our flashlights. We found all sorts of things, satanic symbols on the walls and floor, candles that had been burnt and spilled over, we even found animal sacrifices too. One sick place, it sure was. It smelt of death. Have you ever smelled death, boy?"

Jakob shook his head. Georgie leaned forward and whispered, "Ain't all that pleasant, either. It made me want to hurl and I had a strong stomach. Oh we were freaked out. I remember Natalie tugging at my sleeve, telling me we should leave and face the bucket of ice water. If I had listened, we'd be married and have grandkids right now."

"You can't dwell on the past. We never know what the future would've held for y'all" ,Jakob said in an encouraging voice. Georgie nodded, "Well said, boy. Now, to the witch. Mary and Hyde knew of the satanic worship… dared each other to start something. I told them not to, we all did, but they wasn't going to listen. The lit their candles, they did their little chant and then… poof."

Jakob raised an eyebrow, "Poof?"

"Poof" ,Georgie repeated, "she was there. Those awful black eyes staring us down like we were her neck meal, her crocked smile and growling voice… I believed her to be the devil's mistress. She reached out to Hyde and Mary… they didn't even hesitate. Took her hand like it was something they had practiced all their life. Course that's when I figured out they were into Satanism and all that hocus pocus stuff. Stephen and Frank, I ain't never seen them so scared in my life. They tried to run, but she just took them. Natalie held me, held me so tight and I her. I wasn't gonna let her go, promised her I wouldn't. She was too weak and the witch was too strong. She ripped her from my arms like a rag doll… I can still hear her scream."

Another tear escaped down Georgie's face, this time he didn't attempt to wipe it clean. He frowned, "You know what I remember? I remember the way her hand reached right into Natalie's chest. She was laughing, like it was some kind of game, like she was enjoying her pain. I remember the way Natalie screamed… it could've shattered every window in that house. I yelled, pleaded for her to stop and take me instead, but she only smiled at me. Natalie's body dropped to the floor and I rushed to her, but she was dead. That witch…. That stupid cursed b****! Took everything from me. My friends, my love, my future… I might as well have died that night! Death sure sounds a hell of a lot better than this place!"

Jakob swallowed the lump in his throat, not sure if he should ask him to go on. Georgie cradled his head in his hands, sobbing thick tears and moans, rocking back and forth, "I just want to hold her again…"

He hesitated, but crawled to his knees and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, there was no need for words. He rubbed his shoulders and back, trying to soothe him, but was no good at it. Georgie looked up and wiped his nose, "She didn't take me, no sire she didn't. I begged her to, told her to kill me as well. Said my life wasn't worth living no more, but she shook her head. Instead, she touched the back of my neck and told me my only pain was to continue living. It burned, like she was holding hot coals to me, it burned so bad. I hit the floor, smacked right into a puddle of blood. When I finally came around, it was morning and the witch was gone. I staggered outside, only to come face to face with the local sheriff.

"I tried to tell them what happened, but they all said I was crazy. They tried pinning Natalie, Frank and Stephen's murder on me, but some how I got released of those charges. All the doctors said I was insane and needed medical help fast, so they sent me here. Every now and then, I get these flashes of that place, what it looks like today. Though I was here, I saw them remodel it, clean up all the Satanism symbols and candles, dress it up like they were ready to sell it. I saw every murder, every bad thing that happened to whoever got gutsy enough go up there. I would scream and tell them to turn around, but they couldn't hear me. Doctors said I was adding to my insanity. That was before I discovered these were visions."

"You have visions of the plantation?"

"Sure do, they play out like movies. I've seen every murder that witch has caused, every cursed bad thing up there. She did it so I could see and have that same feeling I had fifty years ago. Watch it all happen and have no ability to stop it. If I was free of this place, I'd kill her myself, send her back down into the fiery pits of hell myself.

"Would you listen to me, here I am an old man now and I talk like I'm a teenager again. I can't do nothing about it… but you can!"

Jakob straightened up, "That's why I came here! My friend and I are trying to shut that place down for good, so no one will ever go up there again."

"Good, its about time somebody stepped up to the plate and did something I should've done a long time ago" ,Georgie said as he crossed his arms in satisfaction. Jakob nodded and leaned forward in interest, "How do we do?"

"Ya got me beat there, kid" ,Georgie shook his head. Jakob frowned, "You mean you don't know how to beat the place?"

"Kid, I've seen priest go up there and do hundred of blessings on the place. They drowned the place in holy water, nothing works. No purification, no nothing. I do have a theory though…"

He turned to his desk and began throwing papers over his shoulders, "I've been doing a lot of research, thinking the best way to rid of it was to burn it. Now, I'm lost here because some people have said the place just won't catch fire. How many old plantations do you know of that are fire proof? None."

Jakob leaned over his shoulder, piles of papers and files on the plantation surrounded him, stacked on the desk, the floor, pinned to the wall, all in the name of research. He stared with his jaw open, "So, if the best way is to burn it, how can we do that if its practically fire proof?"

"Which brings me to my theory" ,he said as he spun back around to face him, "the legend is that witch put a curse over all the land and all the satanic worship and voodoo that went on over the years only made her curse stronger, like throwing gasoline onto a fire. She is like the key to the place. I believe if you kill her, you can kill the whole thing."

"How do we kill something that is not human?"

"Isn't that your job to figure out, ghost buster? That is what you and your friend do" ,Georgie asked as he dropped his chin and stared at him. Jakob swallowed hard, his throat completely dry and cracked, "How did you…"

"I saw your friend shoot an apparition dead. Well, it wasn't exactly an apparition, but something evil and solid. No amateur could've done that on a whim. Which by the way, I've rather enjoyed seeing her and muscle man get all heated up these past couple days. Makes great entertainment…"

Jakob shook his head and blinked over and over, "I didn't need to know that. Okay, so you know about me and Hannah being hunters, great. Do you think if I left my number or something you could alert me about anything else that goes on?"

Georgie ripped out a paper and pen, handing it to him in delight, "I'll do whatever I can to bring this thing down."

"Great" ,Jakob said as he scribbled his name and number onto the paper and handing it back to him, "now, tell me more about Hannah and this muscle man."

Georgie smiled, "Sit down, boy. I've got juicy stuff…"


	11. Chapter 11

**Nightmare at the Young-House Plantation**

_Darkness, everywhere Hannah looked. Her breath was cold and visible, she felt goose bumps crawling up her arm. She shivered, "Hello?"_

_No response, she was alone. The temperature dropped, oh how she wished she had a jacket or something to cover her bare arms. Her hands reached out, trying to find some kind of support. Cold and hard, some kind of stone, which kind she couldn't tell. Her foot slipped and hit something hard, she whispered curses and moaned as her ankle throbbed. Steps, she was standing on steps. Her hand scanned the wall as she cautiously stepped down, twenty, forty, sixty steps later. The floor was flat and below her, her ankle still throbbed._

_"Hello" ,Hannah whispered, "is anyone down here?"_

_"Keep coming" ,someone whispered back. She looked over her shoulder, no one. She was still alone. She kept her hand on the wall as some kind of guide, slowly walking forward, hoping to find something… anything._

_"Where am I" ,she whispered, feeling nothing but the hard stone on the wall. A dim light came into view up ahead, twenty, maybe thirty yards up. Hannah picked up her pace, half jogging and half limping. She stopped, a tunnel lit by multiple lamps hanging on the wall. She breathed heavily and turned in it, clear. She was still alone, no sign of who it was that beckoned her._

_Hannah walked, jogged, ran down it as she looked left and right for something, anything. Hopefully a way out…_

_"Stop" ,the whisper came back. She slid to a stop, slipping but catching herself in a crouch position, her hands slamming the stone beneath her. She bit her lower lip, ignoring the jolt from her palms to her elbows. She looked up, a room with dim lighting and a table in the middle. It was decorated with a thick, white cloth with torn fringes hanging from its ends. Tools laid on the surface, cups, knives, bowls…_

_"What is this" ,Hannah whispered to herself as she stood to her feet, cautiously stepping in. Though the table with tools was enough to tell her this was for rituals, the painting on the wall disturbed her the most. An inverted pentagram with a goat's head painted in the middle, a sign of Satanism. The whole room, it was set up for some type of ceremony, for what she wasn't sure yet._

_"This is a mistake" ,she whispered to herself, stepping in and walking to the table, "I don't think I should be here."_

_"Oh, but you should", the whisper again, it was so familiar yet she couldn't make out who it was. The table, knives, pieces of cloth, all covered in a thick, red syrup. She touched it and brought it to her lips, blood. The bowls held organs, a kidney, a slice from someone's liver, and even an ear lob. In a separate bowl lay a heart, cleaning ripped out of someone's chest. Hannah gagged, feeling the urge to throw up, but was able to contain herself. She swallowed the lump in her throat and stepped back, "Who's doing this?"_

_"No… no… please no" ,someone called from down the tunnel. Hannah looked left and right, what looked to be a small covered window laid on the wall behind her. She pealed the cover off like a door and jump in, closing it slightly to see what was going on._

_"I won't tell a soul, I promise. Please, don't do this" ,it was Ruby's voice she heard. She was being dragged by her hair, tears flowing down her face and chin, she yelped and cried, begging to be released. Hannah couldn't tell who was dragging her, their face covered, but from the frame of this person, it was male. Thick, tanned arms dragged her, jerked her every time she pleaded to him, and eventually pulling her up on the table._

_"Run Ruby, fight back" ,Hannah whispered, but she never moved. She seemed paralyzed, her arms and legs hanging off the sides as he fiddled around with the tools. Ruby cried, "Please…"_

_Her cry was followed by chants, they seemed to surround the room even though it was only Ruby and her tormentor. They got louder and louder, as he swiped his hand along the blade, cutting himself. He raised the knife high, the chants getting louder and faster, Ruby crying harder, "I don't want to die…"_

_He thrust the knife deeply into her stomach, as she sent out a blood curling screaming that silenced the entire room. Hannah cupped her hand over her mouth, closing her eyes as the tears that surfaced overflowed and ran down her cheeks, dripping off of her chin. She turned and rested her back against the wall, holding her head in her hands, "My God, my God, how am I to stop this? Who would do such a thing to a person?"_

_A light flickered and Hannah looked up, it was George holding a lantern. He frowned, "I told you, ya need to stop her."_

_"How am I" ,Hannah asked, the tears still flowing down her face, "this is far beyond my expertise. I've killed many demons and creatures that people only believe to exist in horror stories. This is one demon I've been afraid of my entire life and prayed I'd never have to face…"_

_"You have to face your fears some day" ,George whispered back. Hannah shook her head, "I can't do this…"_

_"You have to" ,he responded as the light grew bigger, "if you want to save everyone."_

_Hannah looked around, the window she jump through lead to a room. She gasped, bodies laying everywhere, piled up to the ceiling, hundreds of them. People she recognized from missing person files, people she was locked down with. Kale, Kelly, Justine, Sam, even Nick and Aaron. Everyone she had grown to like over the past few days. She backed away slowly, shaking her head, "No… no… no…"_

_She slipped and fell to her knees, the tears were unstoppable now. She couldn't remember a time when she had cried this much. Her body was sore, she was tired and felt completely defenseless. Her eyes fell on a hand, thick and bulky with a skull ring. She followed it down to the wrist, the elbow, the shoulder and finally finding the face. More tears escaped as she crawled to him and cradled his head in her hands, "Zak…"_

_His eyes lay open and blank, lifeless as she cried over him. She sniffled, feeling her chest burn in anger. Her whole body shook as she threw her head up to the ceiling and screamed…_

~0~

"No" ,Hannah screamed as she sat up in bed, her body covered in sweat. It was a dream, no, a nightmare. Ruby sat on the bed beside her, "What's wrong? What is it?"

"You're okay" ,Hannah asked. Ruby raised an eyebrow, "Of course I'm okay, I'm not the one having nightmares."

"Yeah" ,Nick said as he crossed his arms over his chest, "you woke up the entire house. We were afraid we wouldn't be able to wake you up. Ruby tried shaking you and you just screamed even louder."

Hannah breathed heavily, recalling everything she had seen. The stairs, the tunnel, the table, Ruby and her tormentor, Zak… "Zak! Where is he" ,Hannah asked as she swung her feet over the edge, her head spinning as soon as she stood up. Sam reached out and steadied her, "Slow down, you're still in sleep mode. Lay back…"

"Don't tell me what to do" ,she snapped back and pushed him away from her. He stepped back and raised his hands in apology, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

She sighed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. Its just that… This dream really… well…" she didn't know if she could tell them. She didn't want to put anyone in a panic nor did she want them to stick around here. She was torn, should she tell them or shouldn't she?

"Well what" ,Justine asked over Ruby's shoulder, "what was it?"

She looked around, all eyes on her. Nick and Aaron stood side by side with their arms crossed, waiting for her to speak. Ruby sat on the bed along with Justine and Andria. Kelly hugged herself as Sam wrapped a gentle arm around her, they were all waiting for her to speak. Hannah sighed, "I think, I might have had a vision."

The room was completely silent, someone walked out and was storming down the stairs, but everyone else watched her. She looked around, breathing in again, "Someone… I think, I witnessed a murder…"

~0~

Zoë leaned against the door frame, everyone had rushed to Hannah's side when she screamed. Now, she was completely dumbfounded, asking for Zak and snapping at the fool who tried to help her. Zoë whispered under her breath, "Pathetic…"

"I think, I might have had a vision" ,she said. No soon did the words come out of her mouth, Zoë straightened up and walked out, whispering under her breath, "George, that bastard."

"What's going on" ,Ken asked from the bottom of the stair. Zoë shoved him aside, "Out of my way, maggot."

She stomped across the living room and out the door, into the sunlight and cursing to herself, "That sick, no good, son of a…"

"Hold your tongue" ,Pandora snapped at her. Zoë jerked around and cursed some more, "Your no good brother has been selling us out to those pathetic humans."

"How do you know? I would know if he was."

"Oh, he's been trying to find ways to escape this place for years, there's no denying his involvement. When I find him, I'm going to cut his tongue out and wrap it around his throat…"

Pandora slapped her hard across the face and grabbed her by the throat, "You'll do no such thing to my brother. I made you and I can put you back down to the pit just as fast as I brought you out. You'll do as I say, you got me?"

Zoë coughed and choked, he face turning blue as she stifled out a helpless, "Yes…"

Pandora dropped her and watched as she fell to her knees, "The ritual is still not ready, we need more."

"I'm working on it" ,she responded as she rubbed her neck and blinked back tears, "you'll have more souls and bodies than you'll know what to do with when I'm done."

She looked down at her, "For your sake, you better hope so."

Zoë looked up, but she was gone. She stood to her feet and stared at the barn, "Only a few more days to go."


	12. Chapter 12

Seeing Double

Zak rubbed his eyes, a couple hours of sleep was exactly what he needed. No nightmares, no sudden jolt to wake up, nothing but peaceful, sweet sleep…

"Zak" ,Aaron blurted as he swung the door wide open and stumbled inside. Zak sighed and closed his eyes, keeping his mind at ease, relaxation was all he needed right now, "Yes?"

"We kind of need you…"

"Can't you get Nick to handle it?"

"Well, he's already there and its not him that's needed right now."

"You both are in there, why do you need me?"

"Its Hannah…" Aaron said in a teasing voice. Zak's eyes opened wide and he sat up, worried, "Is she alright? She's not hurt is she? Where is she?"

"She's fine. She thinks she might have had a vision and has been calling for you."

Zak jumped as the mention of her name, going from a stand still to a brisk walk past Aaron and out the door, down the hallway and turning into the room where he had last seen Hannah. She was sitting on the bed, watching Ruby as she spoke to her, calming her down. He let out a sigh of relief, _Thank God she's okay._

"Sorry we had to wake you" ,Nick said when he looked up to see Zak in the door way. Hannah's eyes looked past Ruby and locked with his for a second and then returned to Ruby again, listening to every word she said. She finally stood and walked past Zak, resting a hand on her shoulder, "She's a little shaken up, just listen to her. I think she really believes that she had a vision."

"What about" ,he asked her before she could walk away. Ruby shrugged, "She said she wanted to talk to you before spilling the beans."

Ruby turned and walked away, Zak listened for her footstep down the stairs before making his way towards Hannah and taking her hand, whispering but making sure the guys could hear him, "Are you okay?"

Hannah nodded, "Yeah, I'm just a little freaked out right now."

Zak looked over his shoulder at Nick and Aaron, both stood with their arms crossed, studying them. He raised an eyebrow and Nick nodded, "We should go and do that… thing."

Aaron shook his head, "I already took care of that."

"Well then lets go check on the other thing."

"What other thing? There is no _thing_ we need to check."

"Yes there is" ,Nick said as he pinched Aaron's arm. He jumped and looked at him, "S*** man, what's wrong with you?"

"Come help me with… that thing!"

"Okay! You know, all you have to do is ask."

Zak shook his head and watched as they walked out, leaving the door open behind them. Hannah giggled, the first time she smile since she woke up from her dream. He looked at her, "They've lost their minds. They've lost their f***ing minds."

"They make for great entertainment" ,Hannah teased, giggling again. He smiled, looking down at his hand holding her's, "What happened?"

She pulled threads from the quilt underneath her, not knowing if she should tell him the whole story. He trusted her and she wanted to trust him to, but there were just some things she wasn't ready to tell him. She sighed and looked up at him, "Its was a vision, possibly from the past. There was a room and it was dark and cold. She screamed… so loud…"

"Its okay" ,Zak said as he began to rub her shoulders and back, doing as much as he could to soothe her, "did you know her?"

_Of course I know her, it was Ruby. Then I saw you and everybody else… DEAD_, she wanted to tell him, but there was no way it could lead to anything good. Hannah sighed again, "No, but I just keep hearing her scream. It was awful… He killed her without any second thoughts. He had no hesitation at all, like he had been doing this his entire life. How could someone be so cold-hearted? How could anyone want to hurt a human being like that? Its wrong!"

"Slow down, slow down, lets unravel this one step at a time" ,Zak said as he continued to soothe her, pulling her close as tears formed in her eyes. She hugged his neck and cried into his shirt, "It was horrible. I never want to see anything like that again."

"I know, sometimes those visions can feel so real. It feels like you're right there, only you can't stop it from happening. Having to watch someone die and being able to do nothing about it, there is nothing worse than the feeling of helplessness" ,he kissed her hair, continuing to hold her as she cried into his shoulder. _Who is this girl_, he though. Only a couple days ago she was laughing and dancing out in the fields. She seemed to strong and invincible, like there was nothing that could bring her down and now, that same girl laid in his arms, crying for someone she didn't even know. This girl that he so desperately wanted to run away with after kissing her. This girl that he hopelessly was falling for with every moment they spent together. This girl… she was becoming his everything.

Hannah sat up, still looking down at the quilt, tear sliding down her face, "It has to stop, Zak. I can't let this happen any more."

"Why do you think its up to you? You're not alone in this, we're all scared" ,he tucked a curl behind her ear and kissed her forehead, "let me help you. You don't have to face your fears alone."

She looked up at him and smiled, "I'm trying. I'm just so use to doing everything myself… its like taking baby steps."

"I'll be holding your hand the whole way. I'll be there to catch you if you begin to fall, but you have to let me."

Hannah nodded, wiping her tears before they dripped off her chin, "Okay."

Zak smiled, leaned forward and kissed her softly. She held his face in her hands, kissing him back, savoring the few minutes she had with him. He pulled away and leaned his forehead against her's, "I should go let everyone know you're okay."

"Pull Nick and Aaron from that _thing_" ,Hannah giggled again. Zak chuckled, kissing her again, "I'll see you at dawn."

~0~

Hannah sat at the bottom of the stairs with Ruby as she showed off her rubber band ball, making Hannah laugh. Zak, Nick and Aaron sat around the couches, checking camera and voice recorders. Greg laid on the floor next to Sam and Kelly who sat at the far corner flirting with one another. Hannah was so happy to see Kelly coming out of her quiet shell. Bobby paced in a circle, he had been acting really strange the past couple of days. Hannah decided to watch him closely, something told her he was up to no good…

"Justine is gone" ,Andria said as she busted through the door of the manor, breathing heavily, black hair all knotted and tangled from running. They all looked at her, not knowing she was even missing. Zoë followed up behind her, "Ken is missing too."

Another strange figure Hannah had been watching closely. Ever since the first nights, her attitude had changed dramatically and not for the better. They had been there a full week and their numbers went down from twenty to ten, well now eight since Ken and Justine were nowhere to be found. Everyone else had just given up and gone home, or so that's what everyone said they did, but then again no one had actually seen them leave. The whole place was just weird…

"We heard truck tires a few minutes ago" ,Greg said as he sat up, "I'm pretty sure I saw them leaving."

"Justine wouldn't just leave like that" ,Andria said as she stepped outside and then jerked back in, "she would've waited for me so we could leave together."

"Sooner or later we all get our heart broken, sweet cheeks" ,Greg said as he leaned forward and hugged his knees, grinning up at her. Hannah picked up the Ruby's rubber band ball and chunked it toward Greg, hitting him in the back of the head. He cursed and looked over his shoulder, Hannah giving him her "you jerk" look. He rubbed his head and turned back around, Zoë snickered, "Yeah Greg, I'm sure your mommy still loves you…"

"Shut up, Zoë" ,he snapped back. The guys chuckled as they pretended to be checking their equipment, but Hannah knew they were paying more attention to the commotion around them. Greg snapped over at them, "Something funny?"

"No, nothing" ,Nick answered, a grin spread wide across his face. Zak and Aaron both just shook their heads, smiling to themselves. They all turned back to Andria, who still wore a worried look across her face. Her eyes were started to get clouded with tears, "What if something happened to her?"

"Whoa, lets slow down" ,Aaron tried to comfort her, standing to his feet and stepping beside her, "its probably like Greg said, she might have just left."

"But what if its like Hannah's dream? What if she witness Justine being murdered?"

"It wasn't Justine. I think it was more of a flashback" ,she lied, but at this moment was going to say anything to keep the room calm. Andria looked up at her, her eyes still foggy with tears, "You think she really left?"

She was asking Hannah, looking directly at her. Everyone turned to face her, waiting for an answer. Hannah sighed and looked down at her feet, "Yeah… she probably just left."

"I should call her then" ,Andria said as she turned and walked out, wiping the tears that began to spill over. Hannah hated to lie, especially since Andria was so fragile at the moment, but what else was she suppose to do? She couldn't just agree with her and set everyone in a panic, she had to keep the peace and find out what was going on. She needed some air…

Without saying anything, Hannah stood to her feet and walked out, headed towards the barn. So much had happened in the past week. Meeting everyone, stopping a few demons here and there, running into George, learning so much about this place, all was overwhelming.

In the barn, Hannah glanced over her shoulder multiple times before lifting her pants leg and grabbing the cross bow around her ankle. It fit perfectly in her hand, like a small handgun. She pointed it towards a rafter and pulled the trigger, stabbing a small metal arrow into the board. A few more target practices afterwards was still not enough. Her anger began to rise, her whole body shaking, her face and ears turning red.

"Ah" ,Hannah screamed and punched a stall door, sending splinters into her knuckles. She punched it a few more times, picked up a loose board and began banging the walls, the windows, the tables. Tools hanging on the wall fell to the ground, rotten wood peeled off the wall, Hannah's hands began to bleed. She tossed the board and watched as it slammed a wall and fell to the ground, collapsing to her knees and breathing heavily. All her anger and frustration, the stress from this case, it was all too much.

"Got it all out" ,Philip said behind her. She spun to her feet and face him, his green eyes watching her, his lip pushed to a straight line in all seriousness. He leaned against the barn door, arms folded across his chest, revealing his muscular arms and chest, still attractive as the day she met him. She shook her head, "There's more."

"Well let me know before you go on a rampage again so I won't be in the line of fire. You really shouldn't be so careless" ,he was referring to her shooting off the crossbow into the rafter. His eyes drifted towards the target and then around where she had left chipped wall, dents and impression out of her frustration. Hannah shook her head, "I don't know what to do. I've hit a wall… and where the heck have you been? I've been waiting for your information for days now, how long have you known about the one survivor? Jakob has been working his butt off, doing double time for us and you decide to come make a field trip here?"

"Whoa now, don't pin this on me. I've been working just as hard as anyone else" ,he pushed himself off the wall and walked in her direction, hands raised in complete innocence, "I have information, but its not something I can necessarily give to you over the phone. Now will you please let me take a look at your hands."

Hannah rolled her eyes and stuck her hands out, palms down, revealing her bloody knuckles. Philip grabbed her right hand and began pulling splinters out, "For someone as pretty and angelic as you look, you sure quiet the hard a**."

She snickered, "You're just now figuring that out?"

Philip smiled, "I've known for a while, just now coming to terms with it I guess."

He dropped her right hand and began working on her left hand, "Paying close attention as he pulled the wood chippings out of her skin. He looked up at her once and watched her, looking directly into her eyes. She met his eyes, almost got her breath taken away, but it was just Philip.

Philip, a stuck up pretty boy throughout high school that became a master hunter when he was just fifteen. The guy Hannah had secretly dreamed for but couldn't be more happy to rid of. He gave her more knots and butterflies than anyone, at least he use to until she met Zak. The difference with Philip and Zak, he only cared about himself where as Zak practically ran to her side when even a hint of danger crawled around her. He cared, in ways Philip couldn't even imagine…

"Sometimes I wonder what happened" ,he said, breaking the silence, still holding her eyes. Hannah shrugged, "What?"

"With us" ,he stepped closer, still holding her hand, "I look at you and can't seem to see anyone else. You've had me under your spell since eighth grade Algebra, but I never told you that."

"You choose now to hit on me" ,Hannah rolled her eyes. Philip chuckled, "When would be a better time? You're stressed and upset, why not take a little good news?"

"Because its not something I want to hear right now" ,she said as she locked eyes with him again, "not now."

He stepped closer and touched her face, raking the back of his fingers against her cheek, "There's no time like the present."

She didn't need him right now, didn't need this right now. As much as she needed to say no to him, a part of her didn't want to. It would be so easy to give into him, this guy she ever so desperately wanted…

_Zak_, she thought and snapped out of her phase immediately. She had Zak, and that was all she needed to break away from Philip. Just the very thought of his name made her smile, only Philip believed she was smiling for him. As he leaned in, Hannah stepped back, giggling, "No. I use to think the same thing about you, but not any more."

He clinched his jaw and looked down at his feet, "What changed?"

_Zak changed me_, she wanted to say, but knew it would jeopardize her mission and piss Philip off. She just shrugged, "People change."

His eyes converted past her and looked into the distance, "Pull out your bow."

At the sound of footsteps, Hannah turned and grabbed the other crossbow from her ankle, pointed at what Philip now saw. She raised an eyebrow, "Zak?"

He stood there, watching from the shadows. Hannah looked closer at him, not sure what his expression was. It wasn't shock, but anger. Bitter hate flamed from his eyes as he looked at her. She wanted to run to him and began to lower to crossbow, "Zak… its me. Is everything okay?"

He just stood there. Philip shuffled his feet behind her, "Hannah, that's not Zak."

"Of course its Zak, who else could it be?"

"Its not him Hannah, trust me on this one…"

"Zak, come on, what are you doing" ,she asked as she stepped closer to him, "this isn't what it looks like. Please, don't be like this."

"Hannah, stop…"

"Philip, shut up" ,she said over her shoulder, walking closer to Zak, dropping her cross bow and holding her hands up, "come on, its me. Will you come to me?"

He just stared, his expression never changing. She was only a few feet away, smiling up at him, "Zak…"

She looked closer, his eyes so dark with fury and hatred, there was no possible way he was human. He wasn't Zak! Hannah stopped and looked at him, "Zak?"

His lip curled upwards in a snarl, his eyes turned black and he jumped at her. Hannah screamed as she was slammed to the ground, the Zak copy on top of her, raising his hand like a claw, ready to attack. Hannah reached for the knife at her hip and thrust it upwards into his gut. He stopped, eyes blank as they returned to normal. Blood seeped out of his mouth and dripped onto Hannah's face. His body fell forward and evaporated into a thick gray fog around her. Hannah laid on the ground for a second, shocked.

Her hands began to shake as she stood to her feet, tucking the knife back into her hip, under her pants, "Philip…"

She turned, alone. He had gone running out of the barn like a coward. Hannah shook her head and mumbled, "Thanks a lot…"

"Hannah" ,it was Zak's voice she heard. He came running through the open doors and pulled her into his arms, holding her tight against him, "are you okay?"

She hugged him back, tucking her face into his chest, "I'm so glad its you."

"Who else would it be" ,he teased. She looked up at him, "I saw you… you were right here and you were so angry. You were angry at me."

"You saw me, but yet it wasn't me?"

She nodded, "I think it was a demon. It just evaporated into a fog and there is no trace of it."

Zak looked at her, still holding her in his arms, "The same thing happened to me on the first night. I saw a woman and then poof."

Hannah stood on her toes and kissed his lips, "I'm so glad its you…"

"Is that blood on your face" ,he said as he began to wipe her face clean with his hand, chuckling. He looked down and saw her hands, "what did you do?"

"I blew off some steam" ,she smiled up at him. He shook his head, "Next time try a punching bag, not a wall."

"I'll remember that next time" ,she said as he kissed her knuckles, looking at her the whole time. He leaned down and kissed her again, "I hate being separated from you. The past two nights have been killing me, not being able to be near you."

"I know, me too" ,she grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him again, "I wish so desperately to be with you all the time."

He pulled her in and hugged her again, holding her tightly as if she would disappear in front of him. She hugged him back, kissing his neck over and over, glad for the moment she had alone with him. He pulled away and stepped past her, crouching down to the ground and reaching for something, "What is this?"

Hannah gasped, she had dropped her crossbow and forget to collect it. Zak held out her bow to her and looked it over, "I have an arrow that looks like it could fit in here. Where did this come from?"

"I don't know" ,she lied, "I haven't seen it till now."

He pushed the wings in like he knew how to work it and tucked it into his back pocket, "I think we should keep this safe, incase something else shows up."

Hannah nodded, watching as he tucked it away, kicking herself mentally for being so careless, "Good idea…"

"Everything okay" ,Ruby asked from the open door. Everyone had piled in behind her. Hannah guessed Zak had told everyone to stay behind just incase, and now everyone was letting their curiosity get the best of them. Zak looked up at them, "Yeah, coast is clear."

"Well we figured that when we didn't hear any more screams" ,Nick said as he walked in, followed by everyone else. They all stood in the barn, looking at all the fallen tools and chipped walls. Aaron asked the question everyone was thinking, "What happened?"

"There was a minor show down" ,Hannah answered, showing off her bloody knuckles. Nick nodded, "I'd say you won."

"Game, set and match" ,Aaron said with a smile, making Hannah giggle. Sam looked at the chipped walls and nodded, "Very nice."

"You're a beast" ,Ruby teased, "now lets get out of here."

Everyone agreed and began walking out, Zak and Hannah last to leave. He pulled her to him, hiding behind the one closed barn door and kissed her again, "Had to sneak one in."

She smiled and kissed him again, stepping out and pulling him out of the barn, following everyone up to the manor, willing to forget all that happened in the barn.

Happy Birthday to FallenAngel1129! I hope you like your bithday present


	13. Chapter 13

Bitter Sweetness

"Georgie said that Pandora is not one to mess with. She was this crazy voodoo witch that made a deal with the devil after death. She promised him more souls, how sick and twisted is that?"

"Pretty sick" ,Hannah said as she glanced over her shoulder, hoping nobody could hear her conversation with Jakob. He hadn't called her back right away after visiting Georgie because he was trying to collect all the information that he could and make sense of it himself before passing it on to Hannah. It was all so confusing, it even took a while for Hannah to comprehend…

"So, he said she just snatches them up, suck them in some type of black hole…"

"I know we're not the smartest species on the planet, but we sure as heck aren't dumb enough to go waltzing in to some deep, dark black hole. She must be using something to lure people in" ,Hannah said as she tapped her chin, trying to think, "but what?"

"He see everything that happens there" ,Jakob said after a few seconds of silence, "he's seen everybody that has entered onto that property… he watches them die. This man, he's seen it all."

Hannah thumped her forehead, bait. Something that everyone would look at and want, go after and never come back. Something they all desire…

"When she released him, giving him this gift, you don't think she might touched him physically or something?"

Jakob sighed, "What does it matter?"

"Humor me. I know it sounds like I'm going all 'Harry Potter' on you but I have an idea" ,Hannah said, kicking herself mentally for even thinking a plan so outrageous, "she didn't want to kill him, correct?"

"Yes."

"She told him his only pain was worth living, right?"

"I suppose."

"She wanted him to see the pain and misery of everyone else, even relive his own nightmare. What if she just didn't have the strength to kill him? Like, she didn't have enough followers or souls to make her strong. Living was the only thing she could give him and everyone who was up there has died, but watching someone else suffer is just as bad as killing yourself."

Silence over the other line, only Jakob's breathing could be heard. Hannah looked at her phone and placed it back to her ear, "Jakob?"

"Sorry, my brain took a short nap. So what you're saying is Pandora is Lord Voldemort and Georgie is Harry Potter? Only problem is she isn't after him nor does he have a lightening bolt on his forehead."

"I know it sounds crazy, but its just a thought. He loved Natalie, correct?"

"With a burning passion."

"He sees her every night, right?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"She couldn't kill him, she wasn't strong enough but she could show him the one person in the world that he loved, cared for. Someone he'd do anything to get back… someone he loved and wanted desperately… That night Zak was attacked, he saw a woman. Apparently someone he had met and was drawn to the night before. She was someone he wanted… at the time."

"Ah-huh."

Hannah tapped her chin again, feeling like she was finally pulling all the pieces together, "When I got attacked, it was Zak. Someone I wanted…"

"Yeah about that" ,Jakob said as a smile spread across his face, "he uh, saw you two getting a little 'friendly' the other day. Care to explain?"

Hannah stopped and sighed, "No, not really…"

"You're so into him!"

"Will you please stay focused on the situation at hand? I'm attracted to him, so what?"

Jakob chuckled, "Hannah and Bagans sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G…"

"Oh that's very mature. Seriously, grow up" ,Hannah rolled her eyes, "back to work, pup."

"I'm sorry, its just the thought of you and Bagans" ,Jakob laughed and then hesitated, "you and Bagans… Bagans! You're into him…"

"I think we've already covered that…"

"No that's not what I'm talking about, but you're into him. You like him and do anything for him, I suppose?"

Hannah shrugged, "Well yeah."

"Georgie loves Natalie, it's the heart! She is using what the heart wants! Its love, its all love."

She straightened up, "Go on."

"You said you would do anything for Zak. Georgie would do anything for Natalie and so she taunts him with her, trying to draw him back. He was the one that got away. She uses the one thing you guys love, or at least attracted to, to lure everyone in. That's why its not one piece of bait."

Hannah folded her arms, "Makes sense. We're all up here and wear our emotion on our sleeves, human nature. She sees it and uses it. Its brilliant!"

"You can't let your emotion get the best of you…"

"I think I'm a little too late for that" ,Hannah said as she looked out the door. Everyone was asleep so she slipped down the stairs and outside, "what else does he know?"

"He said something about an inside man who lures people in as well. She uses all sorts of emotions like flirtation, sadness, guilt, fear… she doesn't sound so pleasant."

"Die he say who?"

"He doesn't know her name, but he described her!" He didn't say anything else, just silence. Hannah waited and raised an eyebrow, "Well?"

"S***, I can't remember. I couldn't take in paper or pen so I didn't get notes. I'll make another visit find out. I'm sorry, I'm just so overwhelmed with this case…"

"Hey, don't worry about it. I know, its killing me too. Just take a few minutes and go back for another visit. You're doing good, Jakob. Don't beat yourself up."

Jakob smiled, "Thanks Hannah, I promise not to let you down."

She kicked the gravel and spun in a circle, "I'll let you go, call me as soon as you get some more information."

"Alright. Please be careful" ,Jakob stressed to her. Hannah bit her lower lip but nodded, "Good-bye, Jakob."

He listened as she hung up on the other line, slumping in his seat, "I won't let you down…"

~0~

Hannah crossed her arms, now they knew what she was doing to lure them in but that didn't tell her anything on how to stop her. She was worse than any demon she had ever faced, scared for the first time of something she was to hunt and kill. Something Hannah had prayed would never cross her path…

"Satan's b****" ,she whispered out loud. Another hunter for evil. This was hunter against hunter, a battle of good versus evil and only one would prevail. This was not just some plantation, but a hell on earth.

Someone touched her shoulder and she turned to face Zak. He looked at her, "Are you alright?"

Hannah smiled, reaching for his hand and holding it in her's, "Yeah, just… so much has happened and I have no explanation for it."

"You shouldn't be the one trying to figure things out. Just relax" ,he kissed her gentle and smiled, "I'm here for you."

She smiled even wider, "I know."

His eyes grabbed a hold of her's, staring deep inside of her. So mysterious, so hidden from the world, this girl that he had grown to love so much. There was still so much about her he wanted to know, but he knew she wasn't one to throw her trust on just anyone. He didn't care… he still loved her.

Hannah grabbed him by the neck and pressed her lips against his, kissing him hard and passionately. He held her tighter to him, kissing her back in the same passion she was feeding him. After only seconds of this, Hannah broke free, trying to catch her breath. She pulled away from his hold and smiled, turning to run. Zak chuckled and chased her down to the barn, closing the door behind him. She raced up the ladder to the hay loft, Zak hot on her heels, closing the door between the ground and the hay loft, cutting them off from the world.

~0~

Hannah giggled as his lips brushed the back of her shoulder, "You really know what a girl wants."

"I've had some practice" ,he responded as he kissed her neck and down her bare shoulder. Hannah rolled over and looked up at him, grabbing the back of his neck again and kissing him, pushing him on his back. She pulled her head away and smiled, "You're amazing, you know that?"

"I've been told before" ,he was teasing. She rolled her eyes and giggled, "I didn't mean _that_, but yeah there too. I meant by the whole 'I'll be there for you' thing. Why is it that you still want to put up with me? I'm clearly not the kind of girl that throws all of her cares on someone."

Zak shrugged, "I thought I made myself pretty clear why."

Her hands rested on his bare chest, she could feel every muscle in him and under all the muscle his heart pounding uncontrollable. Her heart pounded to the same rhythm as his, "I know, I just want to hear you say it."

Zak sighed, grinning up at her, "You're such a tease…"

"Oh, I'm the tease?"

"Yeah you are" ,he kissed her again and leaned his head back on the floor board, "Hannah… I love you."

She kissed him again, her heart beating so fast she was afraid it would jump right out of her chest. She pulled away for only a second and managed to say, "I love you too" ,before he pulled her back into him. Zak's hands felt along her bare back, holding her tightly against him, ready for more of her. The barn door open and Hannah pushed herself off, "Someone's coming."

They scurried around as quietly as they could, pulling their clothes back on before anyone noticed they were up there. Hannah searched around, Zak tossing her her bra from a hay bail, grinning in her direction. She rolled her eyes and strapped it back onto her body and pulled her shirt over her head, listening carefully as she heard footsteps down on the first floor of the barn. They both crawled to the edge, staying as quiet as possible and peeking over to have a look see…

"Bobby" ,Hannah whispered. Zak looked at her and back down where Bobby stood. He just turned a circle, looking at the rafters above him, never noticing them as they watched. He didn't say anything, just breathed heavily, it sounded as if he was crying or trying not to. He sighed, choking back tears, "Why?"

Hannah and Zak looked at each other and then back down at him. He sniffled, "But I didn't mean to…"

"He's talking to someone" ,Hannah whispered to Zak. He nodded, still concentrating on Bobby. He was crying now, "I don't… I can't…"

Silence fell around them, only the sound of Bobby's hysterical crying could be heard. Hannah looked at Zak, he was so consumed in what Bobby was doing, trying to figure it out. She slowly crawled backwards, sliding towards the hay bails and searched for her case of weapons she stuffed back there from the first night. Slipping a hand gun with silver bullets and a knife that was designed to kill demons and demons only under her shirt and under her pants leg. Bobby was still standing on the first floor, sniffling and crying, begging.

"What are you doing" ,Zak finally noticed her as she was crawling to the door leading to the latter. She hesitated, but raised a finger to her lips, motion Zak to stay quiet. He pulled his lips tight into a straight line and watched as she escaped to the first floor, disappearing from his view. He looked back to Bobby, he was down on his knees, begging for what, Zak didn't know.

Smoke… thick gray smoke formed around him as he cried hard, "No… I don't…"

A figure, the smoke circling him formed into a person standing over him. An older man, roughly in his forties, full gray hair on his head, arms and shoulders thick and frightening. Though Zak thought himself to be a big guy, something about this other guy scared him. Could it be that he was just some type of apparition? Or could he be feeling the same thing Bobby was?

This man smiled at Bobby, not friendly at all. He leaned closer towards Bobby, looking him right in the face, "Toughen up, boy."

Bobby sniffled again, shaking his head. The man slapped him, "I said toughen up! You're too weak, just like your mother."

"I tried" ,Bobby choked out. The man wouldn't take it, he hit him again, "I said you best toughen up!"

"I am tough enough" ,Bobby yelled back, standing to his feet, looking him in the eye, "I did everything you wanted me to do! I took boxing lesson, I purposefully got arrested to prove to you that I am not a whimp! After all I've done for you and I'm still not enough to be called your son?"

He grinned again, pushing him back. Bobby sailed five yards back, slamming on the ground with a thud. Zak shuffled to his feet, running towards the door, moving fast but cautious not to slip off the latter. He jolted around the corner at a full sprint, running towards Bobby, "Bobby!"

The man turned around, holding a hand out in his direction, stopping Zak in his tracks. His breath was caught in his throat, squeezing tighter and tighter. He couldn't breathe.

"Bobby" ,he choked, but he didn't respond. Bobby lay unconscious on the floor, Zak being brought to his knees, trying to breath. The man just grinned, "Not tough enough…"

Tears swelled to the surface, this was it. He was going to die, being strangled by a ghost. He grabbed his throat, looking at him, he was enjoying it. He took one step closer, "Maybe next time you'll learn to stay out of my…" he didn't finish, choked on the last word. He released his grip on Zak, gasping for breath. Zak fell to his hands and breathed, glad to have his breath back. He looked up, watching as the man just stood there, his head tilted sideways, blood slipping from hi mouth. There was a loud bang, like gun fire. At the same moment, the man fell to his knees and screamed, disappearing into a cloud of gray fog and clearing away. Zak rubbed the tears that had surfaced and looked past where the man would have been and saw Hannah.

She held a gun raised, pointed it at him, slowly bring it down at her waist. He gasped for air, in shock of what just happened or that Hannah was the one that saved him. But how could she have done that?

He pushed himself to his knees, Hannah watching him, expressionless. He walked over to her, cautious, almost afraid of her. She couldn't look him in the eyes and turned her head away from him. He just looked at her, silence.

Hannah tucked her gun under her pants' leg, looking up at him now, still silent. She stomped her foot, "Damn it, Zak. Say something!"

He just looked at her, so many questions buzzing around in his mind but he couldn't grab one to voice. She sighed, "At least tell me what you're thinking."

"Fear, anger, frustration, gladness, weakness, the list goes on and on" ,he managed to say, "but the one that hit's the hardest is this pain" ,he pointed to his chest, "right in here."

Hannah looked down at her feet, "I wanted to tell you…"

"So why didn't you? Would have been nice to know on the first day" ,he stepped back, waving his hands in frustration, "you couldn't even mention it in passing. 'Hi, I'm Hannah Philip, if that is even your real name, and I slay ghost.' That's a bit of information I would have _loved_ to have known earlier."

She shuffled her feet, "I don't just slay ghost but demons, vampires, werewolves, and shape-shifters as well. All these creatures you hear in books and Hollywood films, majority of them exist and its my duty to find them and kill them."

Zak shook his head, "Its like a stepped into some freaky episode of 'Supernatural'. Why couldn't you have told me?"

"I wanted to, but its just… I have to keep my job from everybody. My parents don't know about me. They just think I'm some type of rebel, disappearing after school hours and not coming back till the next day or sometimes days after. They kicked me out first chance they got and never looked back, you think I wanted to keep it from them? You're no different…"

"I would've at least tried to understand, learn to live with it, but instead I have to find out like this!"

"I didn't want you to find out this way…"

"Well, its too late now" ,Zak barked as he spun on his heels, stomping out towards the barn doors, "I can't have you staying here any more."

"What? But Zak…"

"I'm sorry" ,Hannah could read the disappointment on his face. He shook his head and avoided her eyes, "just go."

She watched as turned and left, leaving her to herself. Her mouth was dry as she stared after him, wanting to run after him and beg for forgiveness. She had no intensions of hurting him, only saving him, but now he no longer wanted her.

Although Hannah wanted to scream, wanted to shake her fist to the sky and curse herself, she did not. She collapsed to the floor and held her head in her hands and left the tears stream hot down her cheeks.


	14. Chapter 14

Georgie's Vision

Jakob rubbed his temples, his head banging from all the information he was taking in. Countless files from everyone up there at the plantation, he even dug up information from the Ghost Adventures crew. Only speaks of dirt here and there about someone, but nothing that really helped him. Whoever Pandora had under her power was someone easy to control, easy to pull in, possibly a filthy past used against them. So far, there was no one that fit the bill…

"What are you still doing here" ,someone said behind him, making Jakob jump out of his chair and turn to see who it was. There standing, door swinging behind him, stood Georgie, wearing worn jeans and a loose tee shirt under a thick, zip up sweat jacket. An old baseball cap hid the bald spot starting to form on the top of his head, giving him a look that was younger than he truly was. Jakob rubbed his eyes and looked again, "What…What are you… huh?"

"You gonna finish your sentence or answer my question, boy? You need to get off your skinny a** and get your friend away from that cursed plantation!"

"Georgie, how did you break loose from the nut house? You're under close watch…"

"Wasn't easy son, but I made it. What's the quickest transportation machine you got around here" ,Georgie asked as he looked over his shoulder and around Jakob for anything. He studied the room, staring at the computer monitors, the opened files spread all over the table, the countless emptied coffee cups turned over, it was all a mess and really needed to be cleaned up. Georgie spread the papers out even further and picked up one, holding it close to his face, raising an eyebrow, "This is her."

Jakob stepped up behind him, "Zoë?"

"Yeah" ,he flipped through the file and snickered, "GED, drunk driving, arrested for possession of drugs, where's her murder sheet?"

"What murder sheet" ,Jakob asked as he snatched the file from the old man's hands and searched through it himself. Georgie snatched it back and waved it in his face, "There is none, son! That's why I asked you where it was. Girl is a nutcase."

"So do you know the story?"

Georgie rolled his eyes, "Seen the whole thing like it was a reality show or something. Her mother walked out on her when she was and apparently her old man was getting it on with her…" Jakob's faced cringed. Georgie continued, "one day, she just snapped. Got him drunk one evening and tied him to a chair, beat the living hell out of him. He was holding on to what little life he had left and she dragged out the shot gun, put three through his head. She was mad, but it didn't look like it was her. She looked… possessed.

"Neighbors called the cops and Zoë shot out of there before they arrive, covered her tracks pretty well. No one guess it was her and her 'alibi' was solid, no one would have guessed poor, innocent Zoë would ever dream of killing the man that loved her to no end…"

"Okay, I think I get it" ,Jakob cringed again and blinked repeatedly, "they never even said anything in here about her father being murdered in here. Nothing about a mother disappearing either. So, she has a murder sheet that doesn't exist, what does this have to do with anything?"

He looked him over and sighed, "She's filthy to the bone, perfect candidate to possess. She's the one I saw get snatched up and dragged to the dark side. She's a puppet of that bi***."

Jakob grinned, "Georgie, you're awesome! Come on, we've got to get to that plantation and get everyone out of there."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you" ,Georgie said as he slammed the folder down on the table and walked towards the door. He stopped and looked at the picture sitting next to the monitor, the three of them squeezed into a photo booth and made funny faces at the camera, the last one just casual smiles. Georgie picked up the row of pictures and studied it, "Who is that?"

"Oh that's Hannah. Cute isn't she? Yeah, she's like my mother, trains me better than any one here…"

"Not her, him" ,Georgie interrupted him and showed he was pointing at Philip's smiling face. His blonde hair almost covered his eyes, a rather good looking guy or so Hannah thought at one point, Jakob always saw him as a jerk and stubborn to the bone. He shrugged, "Philip, a pain in the a**. Why?"

Georgie stared at the picture and back up at Jakob, "I saw him too…"


	15. Chapter 15

Can't Give Up

Hannah sat in the field, the tears she had cried were dried to her face, she had cried all of her tears out and now hugged her knees, wondering what to do next. She wanted to leave, after Zak practically demanded her to go home, she just wanted to pack up her stuff and never turn back. All the things she was suppose to do, save them, but from what? There was hardly any activity the past couple of days, this afternoon's scare was as close as it came. Either it was all just dying down or it truly was all made up, making people think it was worse than it really was. Hannah couldn't decide.

The wind blew against her face, pushing her curls over her shoulder, feel cool on her skin, it was nice for only a second. There was a smell, a scent rotten when entering her nasal cavity, making her scrunch her nose. The wind no longer felt cool or very inviting, but suspicious and like a warning.

"Hannah…" someone whispered. She glanced over her shoulder and looked around, she had thought she was alone. When seeing no one, she rested again, letting her knees fall to the ground. It came again, "Hannah…"

This time she stood up, knowing for certain that she was not alone. The wind picked up, carrying a laugh with it, a laugh so cold and icy it made Hannah shiver and hug her elbows. Something was coming and it was big.

"Hahaha… You can't…"

Her fist balled up at her side and she whispered aloud, "I can and I will."

Her eyes were steamy, making her blink quickly. When the feeling vanish, a woman stood in front of her. Her skin was dark, covered in black ash, her hair was twisted into dreadlocks, her clothes hung loosely over her shoulders, her accent was Jamaican. She grinned and walked a circle around Hannah, "You think you can beat me?"

"I will…"

She laughed, "I will admit, you are tough to get to. I was this close and you were just this much quicker. Trust me, I will catch you with your guard down… I know your weakness."

Hannah watched her out of the corner of her eye until she disappeared behind her, but leaning in so she could feel her breath on her neck and ear. She stiffened, "I don't have one."

"Oh I know you do. He's about this tall with dark hair and blue eyes, hard and lean all over… too big for my taste, but he is a rather handsome young man if I may say so myself. A good strong one… plenty of meat."

"You won't touch him" ,Hannah said through her teeth. Pandora giggled and stepped to her side, "Don't worry, he'll feel a lot of pain…"

"If you hurt him…"

"Oh, I'll do more than that" ,she grinned one more time and stepped back, the wind picking up, making Hannah's eyes steam again. She held her hand up to her face and covered her eyes as Pandora disappeared from her site, the wind carrying her final words, "and there is nothing you can do to save him."

"I'll stop you… You hear me" ,she was yelling now, tilted her head up to the sky and screamed at the top of her lungs, "I'm going to send you back to the pits! I'm going to kill you if it's the last thing I do! You hear me? I won't give up until your dead!"

~0~

The wind hit the back of Zak's head, making him turn around. It was cool on his face, with a hint of a warning. He looked back at Nick and Aaron, "Be careful, I think something is. Something big."

The guys looked at each other and then back at him, "Okay…"

Zak shook his head and smiled, "Yeah, so are you guys ready."

"Are you sure you're okay" ,Nick asked as he looked up from his camera, "I mean, I know I didn't know her all that well, but Hannah just leaving like that is kind of a stab in the back."

Zak looked at him, wanting to tell the truth, he told her to leave but fir some reason he couldn't. Aaron shrugged, "Yeah man, that wasn't very cool of her."

"Man, let it go. She wanted to go, that's her decision" ,Zak turned away, trying to hide the hurt on his face. Nick and Aaron knew him to well and they could tell when he was hurt, so he had to try and hide it from them. He shook his head, "Lets just get through the next few days and then all of this will be behind us."

"Okay, so what are we doing now" ,Ruby asked as she walked up behind the guys. They all turned and looked at her, there was only seven of them left and they all wanted to stay together. The barn would be a good place, so far it carried the most activity. The nine of them made their way to the barn, carrying themselves high and proudly, not scared. All except Bobby of course. He had been acting weird and had gotten even stranger since that afternoon with the apparition of his father showing up. He seemed so timid and jumpy, Zak didn't know how much longer he would stick around.

The barn doors were left open, the sun setting behind them. Zak turned and looked at them, "Alright, everyone just spread out and if you don't want to be alone, grab a partner."

Sam and Kelly scurried off up the latter to the second floor. _Didn't want to go up there anyways_, Zak thought, recalling his and Hannah's most intimate time up there. Zoë pulled at Greg's elbow and they disappeared at the far end of the barn. Bobby looked over his shoulder and just walked off, not saying anything, followed by Andria who was still upset over Justine's leaving. Nick and Aaron were already walking around the barn, speaking aloud questions and statements, trying to get anything to happen.

"You don't mind if I stick with you" ,Ruby asked politely, not as bubbly and happy as she usually was. Zak shrugged, "I don't see why not. Don't want to be by yourself?"

She sighed as they began to walk into a stall, the same one Zak had seen his first apparition. Ruby just looked at her feet as she talked, "If Hannah was here…"

_Don't say that_, Zak thought to himself. This girl that he had so desperately loved had become so close to Ruby and now that she was gone, they both carried a hole in themselves. Ruby needed her friendship more than anyone could have ever known. Zak loved her more than anything in the world, if she was there, his world would make since.

Zak felt sorry for Ruby. He slowly slipped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed tightly, "I know she meant a lot to you…"

"She meant a lot to you too" ,she snapped back, pushing his arm off of her, "I know she was special to you, so why did you let her go? Why didn't you tell her to stay?"

Zak hadn't told anyone, but he had told her to go. He had walked into the manor after finding out Hannah was a hunter, no one paying as much attention to him. Greg was the first to speak up, "Where's Hannah?"

Everyone looked at him now, waiting for him to say something. He swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling his shoulders sag, clearly upset, "She decided to leave."

No one said anything, Nick and Aaron giving him apologetic glances, Kelly looked at Sam almost in tears. Greg shook his head, not upset but almost relieved, as well as Zoë. Ruby sniffled, fighting back tears. Everyone thought so highly of her, how could he have just sent her off like that?

But he did. He was so furious with her secrets, something she had been hiding from him since day one, and all for what? Why was she even there?

Zak just looked at his feet, Ruby watched him, not really looking for an answer but just watching him, the way he reacted to her question, his facial expressions when he thought about her. To Ruby, Zak was easy to read. She sighed again, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't pin all of this on you."

"No, you're right. Why didn't I make her stay? Why did I let her go? I'll tell you why" ,he looked over his shoulder, he knew no one was there, but he just had to make sure. He leaned closer to her, dropping down to a whisper, "I told her to go, that's why. Do you know what she is? She's a hunter. She hunters creatures that you think only exist in your nightmare. She's like a twisted character that stepped out of Supernatural. She is… She's…"

Ruby waited for him to finish his sentence, "And why are you upset?"

"She lied to me from day one. She was pretending to be someone she wasn't. I don't even know if Hannah is her real name. I don't see why you're not upset!"

Ruby shrugged, "I don't know, she's the only friend I've ever had and I guess I just don't want to lose her. Whatever reason she had to keep her true self a secret, I won't hold it against her. She's still a good person, she's still Hannah."

Zak sighed, thinking deeply into Ruby's words. She was right. They all had secrets, heck he knew he did… "Maybe."

The barn was quiet, a silence that seemed so uncomfortable. Zak didn't want to be there, it made him shrug and move. He just couldn't stand still nor could he bring himself to provoke anything. Something racked the back of his neck, making him swat the area and turn around, only to find nothing. Ruby's eyes widen, "Uh… Zak…"

He looked over his shoulder and saw a man standing between him and Ruby. He was an older black man, loose and torn clothing, and no shoes. He looked at him, "You must leave."

He couldn't run, he felt paralyzed or cemented to the ground. Even if he could run, he wouldn't. Something about this man wasn't frightening. Zak swallowed the dry lump in his throat, "Why?"

"Tonight is the night she finishes what she started. My sister cursed this land and by midnight tonight, all hell will break loose. This is just the first stop…"

"There's more" ,Zak turned now, feeling his legs come back to him, "where? When? Please, I need your help."

He shook his head, "There's nothing you can do without Miss Hannah. Leave…"

There was a lot of shuffling coming from above their heads. Someone was kicking down from the second floor and dragged. It sounded like someone was fighting for their life. The man shook his head, "No… Leave, you have to leave now…"

"I can't just leave everyone else here. My friends are wondering around…"

"Its too late. If you don't leave now, you'll never leave… go… now."

He disappeared before his eyes, the echo of his plea to leave still lingering. The kicking and dragging stopped above them, only the sounds of their breathing could be heard. Ruby's face turned pale, her eyes widened and began to tear up, "What are we suppose to do?"

Zak rubbed the side of his face, "We have to leave. Find everyone and…"

Suddenly Kelly screamed, a blood curling crying that could've waken the dead. Zak came running out and looked up to see her standing in Sam's arms, her face turned in towards his chest. Sam starred straight ahead, his face white with fear. Zak looked up to where his eyes were and saw Bobby, hanging from the highest rafter, his body twitching as he swayed back and forth. Zak cupped his hand over his mouth, how could he have done this?

There was no time to figure out how Bobby just killed himself, he had to clear everyone out. Nick and Aaron looked around, what were they to do? Some kid just hung himself, a kid they were responsible for. Help, they needed help. Zak ran over to them, "Run up to the manor and call Billy. Call the police, anybody, just go. Nick and I will clear everyone out."

Aaron dropped his camera and took off running, leaving the barn doors to swing open behind him. Zak turned to Nick, "Find Zoë and Greg and get them out of here. Sam, you and Kelly need to get out, now."

Sam nodded and started pulling Kelly towards the latter, Nick running to the far side of the barn, checking every stall for any sign of Zoë and Greg. Zak looked around, what else could he do?

"Zak" ,Ruby screamed as something pulled her back into the stall. He ran to where she was and saw her, pulled up towards the wall, her back end hanging out the window, her hands gripping onto the wall for dear life. She began to cry as her feet and legs pulled through, now hanging by the edge. Zak ran over and grabbed her wrist, "Hold on…"

"Zak" ,she cried, tear streaming down her face. He began to pull her back in, place one foot on the wall and pulling as hard as he possibly could. Whoever or whatever was on the other side matched his strength. Something pulled Zak back, knocking Ruby's wrist out of his hands. Ruby cried as she was began dragged away from the barn, "Zak!"

"Ruby" ,he yelled back, fighting back whoever it was the pulled at him. He was so furious, something was kidnapping their kids. Out of rage, Zak threw his right elbow into whoever's face it was that had a grip on him. They loosened their grip, giving him room to face them. A quick left punch to the gut and right hook to the their face, grabbing them by the neck and jabbing his knee to his nose, clearly breaking it. Whoever it was fell back on their back, not moving. They wore a black hoodie and a ball cap, trying whatever they could to not be seen. Zak kneeled down and removed the ball cap, pushing the hood down. He gasped, "Billy…"

Billy lay on the ground, blood oozing from his nose, a purple mark forming on his left eye. He couldn't believe it, the man who helped them set up this thing was kidnapping the people. Nick ran into the stall, "Zoë and Greg are nowhere to be found. Kelly and Sam never came down either."

"Sh**" ,Zak mumbled, "I can't believe this is happening."

A loud thump came from the outside the stall. Both Nick and Zak ran out to see what it was, Bobby's body had been cut down and lay in the middle of the barn. Someone jumped from the high rafter and landed in the crouch position in front of them. They looked up, Hannah. Zak's heart skipped a beat when her green eyes met his, unfortunately it was not a good greeting stare but more of a "I am so pissed at you right now" stare. She stood to her feet and walked over to them, her eyes burning right through them. Nick was the first to speak, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to stop Pandora, now its your turn."

"We were just locking down when Bobby hung himself. I think I heard Andria being pulled away by somebody, I'm not sure. We can't find anyone" ,Zak told her, holding her eyes, not wanting to let them go, afraid to look away. Nick looked back and forth, "I'll go check on Aaron."

He jogged away, leaving Hannah and Zak alone in the barn. She looked at him for a solid two second and turned, pulling Bobby's body off the ground and placing him against the wall, slipping the rope of his neck and gently closing his eyes. Neither of them said a word.

She stood to her feet, still looking at Bobby's dead body, "I told you to call this off."

"How was I suppose to know someone would get killed?"

"You don't know just like I didn't know, but when you've been warned over and over and over again I think that is a pretty good sign to give it up" ,she was yelling now, getting in his face and unloading all of her anger on him, "just suck in your pride and pack up, is it really that hard?"

"Yes it is" ,he yelled back, "ever since I've been going on these adventures, people tell me all the time that I'm crazy and should stop hunting ghost while I can. I get told all the time to leave or pack up and never look back, but I never back down from a good hunt."

"Unless someone else's life is in danger, right? Well, you started with twenty other people to think about and you still continued this. Why didn't you just listen to me?"

"Oh why should I, you've been lying to me about who you are…"

"For good reasons, I don't tell anybody who I am."

"Then who are you?"

"I think I can answer that for you" ,Billy was standing to his feet now, leaning against the stall, blood running from his nose and down his chin, staining his shirt, "her name is Hannah Phaturos, daughter of Christian Phaturos and Molly Bright-Phaturos. She graduated from Edgewood Academy in Wetumpka, Alabama two years ago but became a professional hunter by the time she was sixteen. Started training when she was about fourteen, but began going on mission by herself on her sixteenth birthday exactly. She's been in a total of five serious relationships, one of them with her partner and I'm guessing another one with you, isn't that right Mr. Bagans?"

Zak's feet shuffled and his fist clenched up, ready to knock this man back down on his butt. Billy pushed himself off the wall and walked towards him, "Now, she has it in her mind that she is to stop Pandora and free this place from its curse. Only problem, we're one person from opening the gate and letting out every damned soul that every suffered on this damned place. Starts now in this little small town and will spread out over the world."

"She plans on burning the world in hell's fire" ,Hannah said, standing firmly as she watched Billy. He nodded, "And there is nothing you can do to stop it."

"Maybe not" ,Hannah looked down at her feet and clinched her fist tightly, "but I sure as hell can stop you."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, whoa" ,Zak said, trying to calm the situation down, though there was really no way to do so, "Billy, what are you doing?"

"Years ago, I dared some friends to come up here and only one of them walked away alive. She wasn't strong enough to kill him, so she sent him off with a curse of her own, a piece of herself so he could see all the pain and suffering of this place. Not to mention the death of his own lover. I promised her souls and I'm coming up on my final numbers."

"Maybe so" ,she moved quickly, jerking a hand gun from her hip and pointing it right at Billy's forehead, "but I'm the one with the gun and you're on the wrong end."

Billy straightened, holding his hands up in surrender, he was scared now, "Now hold on, I don't mean any harm…"

"Too late, its your turn."

"If you kill me before I can finish getting my souls for her, she'll torture me for eternity. You'd really do something like that to an older, poor man to that kind of after life?"

"You've murdered a lot of innocent people out of the pure joy! No man would let you run free."

"Please, I don't want to die and I won't do you any harm. I can't live through an eternity of torture…"

"Should've thought about that before" ,Hannah said and without a second thought pulled the trigger, knocking Billy on his back. Blood seeped from the hole in his forehead, he was finished. Zak tried to swallow, but the lump in his throat reach the back of his tongue and it tasted like vomit. He turned and around and threw up, barely missing his feet. Hannah gently rubbed his back, "I'm sorry."

Zak wiped his mouth and spit, begging for a bottle of water right now to clean out his mouth. Hannah continued rubbing his back as he spit over and over, slowly getting the muck out of his mouth, "I should've told you who I was before getting involved."

Zak shook his head, "Don't apologize, you had your reasons and I should've respected that. I'm sorry, I overreacted."

She helped him straighten up, holding his arms to make sure he was steady. He rested his hands on her shoulders and looked at her, "I shouldn't have let you go. I should've listened to you from the beginning and none of this would've happened. I'm sorry…"

Hannah placed a finger over his lips and smiled, "Its too late to go back and say should've, would've, could've. We all made mistakes, we just have to try to stop this. Come on, I think I know where they're taking everyone."


	16. Chapter 16

Due to the fact that the Ghost Adventure crew keeps their private life extremely private, some names are not real. I apologize, I try to make this as real as possible but sometimes it doesn't work out like that. Thank you for being awesome! -B.M. Katherine

Coming to the End of the Beginning

Aaron looked left and right, a phone is what he needed but couldn't remember where they had put it. He had just sprinted up the hill and busted down the door to the manor, beads of sweat began to form on his forehead, more out of nerves than sprinting. "Damn phone" ,he whispered while frantically looking around. A bump at the top of the stair well made him jump. He looked up but saw nothing and continued his search.

"Aaron…" someone whispered. He looked up again and over his shoulders, but he was completely alone. This time he called out, "Who's there?" No one answered, of course. He shook his head and continued his search. It came again, "Aaron…" a female voice, there was no denying that. Aaron sighed and looked around, "If you have something to say, then come out and say it. Don't do this whispering sh**. Show yourself."

Silence. He was growing angry with every second he wait. He balled his fist up and yelled, "I said come out!"

"Hello Aaron" ,it was a female voice, a voice he knew all too well, one he knew he would never forget. He didn't turn around, "Sarah…"

She smiled, watching him as he didn't even turn to face her. She stepped closer to him, "Won't you look at me?"

"You're not real."

"Doesn't mean I don't want to see you. Look at me, please."

He hesitated but looked over his shoulder, she was so beautiful. Her eyes watched him curiously but lovingly, she missed him and he missed her more than he thought he did. He turned and faced her, he knew she wasn't real but all he wanted to do was hold her again, kiss her face and neck like he use too. He looked her up and down, "God, I forgot how beautiful you are."

She smiled, "I've missed you too."

He said too much and stepped back, "You're not real, you need to go."

"I've missed you, haven't you missed me?"

"More than you know" ,he couldn't help himself and what he said, all his emotions were beginning to pour out and he couldn't stop it. She stepped closer to him, "You wouldn't have to if you had stopped chasing ghosts around. All you had to do was walk away and come home."

A vision flashed before his eyes, a flashback on what his life would be like if he had walked away from Zak and Nick. He turned and left them behind in the dark and went home, cuddling with his wife as soon as we walked through the door. He saw nice dinners and movie dates, they were always laughing and smiling, enjoying company with close friends and numerous parties. He saw them leaning into a crib and watching the most beautiful baby while she sleeps…

Aaron shook his head, he didn't know what his life would've been like if he hadn't have continued with the Ghost Adventures crew, but he knew life wasn't always full of laughs and giggles, it had bumps in the road. He missed his wife, but this wasn't what he wanted either.

"No, I can't…"

"You did this to us" ,she said, suddenly growing very serious and angry. Aaron shook his head, "No…"

"Yes you did. All you had to do was walk away, but instead you brought it all home. I couldn't take it."

"We agreed that it was best…"

"I would say anything to make you happy and rid myself of that nightmare. Its your fault and all you had to do was walk away."

Aaron could feel tears surfacing. He shook his head and just kept saying, "No, it wasn't my fault…"

"Yes it was! You ruined us!"

He kept shaking his head, "I didn't want to keep hurting you."

"Too late. You hurt me more than any haunting or nightmare could've done."

Aaron fell to his knees, the tears were spilling out and running down his face, "I… I didn't mean to…"

"You pathetic, worthless son of a…" her tone had changed, much deeper and more demonic. He looked up, her beautiful face had rotted and turned gray, her bright eyes were dull and black, she looked dead. His tears stopped and he was suddenly angry, angry at himself, angry at this thing that haunted him. He shook his head and screamed, "You bi***!"

He swung at her, but she slid back towards the side of the stairwell. She smiled from the corner of her lip and disappeared underneath the stairs. Aaron jump to his feet and ran to where she stood and saw a door that he had never noticed. Without giving it a second thought, running on a mixture of adrenaline and anger, he pulled the door open and ran in. "Aaron" ,someone yelled behind him. He didn't turn around, kept running down the stone stairwell that lead into pitch darkness.

~0~

Nick watched Aaron charge for the side of the stairs and pulled a door open. "Aaron" ,he yelled, hoping he'd stop and turn around, but he didn't. Nick sighed and ran towards him, looking down the dark stairwell before climbing down himself. He took one step in and slipped, falling to his knees, feeling a sharp pain shoot up his leg. He cursed and pulled himself to his feet, feeling along the wall as he slowly made his way to the bottom.

The lighting was dim, Nick couldn't see very well and had to wait a second for his eyes to adjust. A tunnel that seemed to have no end…

"Aaron" ,Nick whispered, listening as his whisper echoed down the tunnel. He slowly walked forward, looking left and right for any sign of him, "Aaron, where are you?"

He was alone, no one was down there. He kept moving forward, calling out Aaron's name, "Aaron… Aaron, where are you? Come on man, please."

Nick walked a couple more feet, growing impatient, "Aaron… Whoa!"

He was startled when suddenly Aaron jumped out in front of him. His face was pale white, beads of sweat formed on his forehead, he was breathing heavily, and looked scared. Nick looked him over, "Dude, are you okay?"

He opened his mouth like he was about, but he only moaned. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed at his feet. Nick panicked, dropping to his knees and rolling Aaron over on his back, "Aaron! Aaron wake up. Oh my God, oh my God… Aaron."

A sharp pain exploded on the back of Nick's head, making him fall over. He gasped for breath and pushed himself on his back to see who his attacker was. His vision was blurry, but it looked to be a woman, not just any woman but someone he knew. Nick inhaled as much air as he could and whispered, "Zoë?"

She smiled and shook her head, "If only you knew."

His vision was fading even more and black sport appeared at the corner of his eyes. He blinked to try and rid of them, "Why?"

She shook her head again and leaned closer, "Its like I said, if only you knew."

Zoë raised her fist an brought it down on him, hitting him hard enough for him to black out. She straightened up, "Take these two where the others are. We'll need them in due time."

"With pleasure" ,a male voice answered back. Zoë watched as he dragged the bodies of the two Ghost Adventures crew around the corner and disappeared. She smiled, "Just one more thing…"


End file.
